How Sunset Shimmer went from Villain to Hero
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We’ve all asked ourselves this question at some point in our lives: is redemption possible, and if so, how do we get it? I will be breaking down and analyzing what goes through a redemption arc: Sunset Shimmer, the main antagonist of My Little Pony: Equestria Girls movie. (Spoiler warning)
Image provided by IMDB
The movie starts when Twilight, the main protagonist, has been adjusting to her royal title as the princess of friendship. While she and her friends are asleep, we see a mysterious figure (Sunset) has infiltrated the castle and attempts to steal Twilight’s crown (also her element of harmony), switching it with a fake replica. Still, luckily, Spike trips her causing Twilight to wake up and see her crown was being stolen, and a chase begins, which ends with Twilight tackling, but the crown falls out the bag ends up passing through a mirror, which turns out to be a portal to another world.
The thief escapes and goes through the portal, and only soon after does Celestia reveal who Sunset Shimmer is. She was a former student who began her studies not long before Twilight, but when Sunset did not get what she wanted as quickly as she liked, she turned cruel and dishonest. No matter how much Celestia tried to help, Sunset decided to abandon her studies and pursue her own path. So far, we have established our villain; now, it’s up to Twilight to follow Sunset into the other world and get her crown back.
When Twilight gets to the other world (the human high school world) and manages to find Sunset, Twilight, and we see it’s clear that she’s as cruel as Celestia said and a definite bully. She’s at the top of the food chain, winning every school competition and is widespread. When Twilight wins the crown and tries to return home, Sunset holds Spike hostage and threatens to destroy the portal if Twilight doesn’t give her what she wants. When Twilight refuses, a fight ensues and ends with Sunset wearing the crown, turning into a demon and mind-controlling the other students into taking over Equestria.
Twilight and her friends manage to defeat her and save the day; Sunset comes out of the crater as a tear-streaked, remorseful mess. Despite everything, Twilight is willing to give Sunset a chance to learn about friendship and leaves in the care of her new friends, helping to clean up the messes she made. However, we don’t see this concept develop any further until the sequel.
By the time we see Sunset again, she has become an outcast due to the previous film’s events, with only the rest of the Mane Six (except Twilight) willing to be her friend. Though Sunset appears to be okay, at this point, she is unsure of herself and where she stands, which later becomes a problem when the group begins to fall apart and doesn’t say anything because she doesn’t feel like she has a say in the group. It isn’t until the climax when the group gets into a massive argument, that Sunset finally speaks up and says what she had been feeling his whole time and is the one who gives the lesson rather than Twilight.
In the finale, Sunset rises against the villains and helps the Mane Six defeat them. Does she finally feel like she’s part of the team? Yes, she does. I admire Sunset’s development because she genuinely learned from her mistakes and didn’t fall back into old habits throughout the film. Even trying not to fall in the rabbit hole of harsh but true remarks that the current villains say about her.
Sunset finally becoming part of the group
Image provided by TVTROPES.com
The way I see it, redemption is possible (for most people) and the way to get it is by first expressing remorse for any evil deed, then asking and wondering, “what can I do to make things right?” and actually doing those things so you can make up for your past mistakes and show that you can and will be redeemed.
Jhadiva Elliott
Hi, my name is Jhadiva. I’m a college student studying Professional Writing and the technical editor of this group. My hobbies are writing, watching movies and karate. My favorite genres to write about and watch are horror, action, thriller, mystery and fantasy. I enjoy being creative and I find the flawed characters of stories to be the most interesting.
