Talking about the "fandom consensus" is kind of hard without conducting a proper survey. I've noticed more people who completely misinterpret the end of "Griffon the Brush Off" to conclude that Gilda was blameless and Dash was the one at fault.

It's a starter kit for that kind of thing :P Do you have a programmable microprocessor-powered controller for your LEGO bots?

Luna is ironically more morning friendly than Celestia

edited 6th Aug '13 5:25:35 PM by AceOfScarabs

Generally speaking, people don't hate major villains as much as they hate characters who are just sort of assholes, unless that major villain does something truly horrendous. I think its mostly because people don't really have a frame of reference for large scale villainy, while basically everyone has had to put up with someone like Gilda.

That said, I don't think Gilda is really that widely hated.

edited 6th Aug '13 5:26:15 PM by Crowfall

Especially so for someone like Babs.

edited 6th Aug '13 5:27:03 PM by KylerThatch

Yea. They're up......... IN YOUR BUM! *Run away*

edited 6th Aug '13 5:28:19 PM by KingKix

Yeah, Babs is a much better example of this than Gilda. I've seen quite a bit of hate directed at her that mostly seems to stem from viewers who have had particularly bad experiences with bullying.

, That's a very good observation, although it doesn't excuse the DIL Ping that the fans do to the major villains. You'r right because I do dislike Gilda and Diamond Tiara, because I dealt with people like them. I also dislike Babs, but I don't hate her. I like Trixie and some major villains, but I don't woobify them because that would make me look like a hypocrite.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-oQcQT4dsg This is what I'm playing to sum up what I'm feeling right now....oh what the hell? I'm not even in the mood to react towards her right now so go ahead King Kix, bring her in. Let her cheer me up...

I'm reminded of a quote from the author of The Order of the Stick when it came to writing Xykon's backstory, and how he wanted to be sure that it didn't generate any sympathy for him, listing off a whole bunch of the evil things he's done, and finishing it off with "But more importantly, he's kind of a dick."

Same with Gilda, sure the rest have done worse things, but she's the one who is simply a dick, a jerk, a bully, just for the sake of being one, no humor, no reasons, nothing to mitigate it, just a plain old jerk. Plus, she's the type of person people are more likely to actually know someone like, have history with that type of person.

Who? Oh, right! Nah. She's to busy with "Rainbow Dash related" ordeals.

edited 6th Aug '13 5:34:54 PM by KingKix

It helps that they're fun characters. I wouldn't want to deal with Chrysalis or Discord in real life, but when it comes to just making fanworks, they're more interesting to work with than someone like Diamond Tiara.

This, basically. With NMM she was corrupted, which mitigates things somewhat. Chrysalis is trying to provide for her people. Discord is just an asshole, but he's so fun you want to see more of him. Gilda is just a jerk, and we haven't really seen anything to mitigate that.

edited 6th Aug '13 5:37:29 PM by Crowfall

I enjoy Discord and Nightmare Moon, and Lightning Dust.

Also, It doesn't help that the antagonistic actions of Diamond Tiara, Gilda, Babs, and (sometimes) Trixie come off as mean-spirited and unfunny, rather than entertaining.

edited 6th Aug '13 5:37:37 PM by MsCC93

@Crow: That pretty much sums it up. Yes, Chrysalis and Discord or obviously more evil than characters like Gilda or Babs, but the thing is that almost nobody has actually had to deal with people like that IRL. Whereas most people have had to deal with douchebags, so they have much more personal hatred for those types of characters. People see Sombra and see an archetypical evil overlord. People look at Gilda and see "that asshat who kept stealing food from my fridge in college."

You can actually kinda tell that they exaggerated Trixie a bit in her second episode, probably to make her more sympathetic. Embarrassing someone else on stage is a dick move that people will hate for. People who are inordinately afraid of wheels are just amusing.

edited 6th Aug '13 5:40:35 PM by JapaneseTeeth

@King Kux (Sighs) Ah well, in for a pound, in for a penny....and all on the one moment when I need cheering up....god knows how I'm gonna fare in Scotland....incase your wondering I'm going there for a week's holiday there....

edited 6th Aug '13 5:50:14 PM by Starscream759

Well, let's see:

• Discord: Threat was inherently funny, voiced by fan favorite VA.
• Nightmare Moon: Sympathetic backstory.
• Queen Chrysalis: Sexy-evil/cool character design, sympathetic goals.
• Trixie: Charismatic, initially non-threatening.
• Flim and Flam: Super Cider Squeezy 6000, allusion to classic a musical.
• Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon: Cute, non-threatening.
• Babs: Sympathetic backstory, redeems self.

Whereas Gilda was just a total leghole for no reason.

Yeah, Gilda was an awfully written villain, which may be why she is disliked. But fans actually want her dead. The only antagonistic character I've truly despised was Blueblood, because of the way he treated Rarity in the gala.

Actually, Trixie is a popular villain, albeit being a Base Breaker in the fanbase. Some love her for her hammy tendencies, while some find her annoying.

edited 6th Aug '13 5:59:04 PM by MsCC93

• Facepalm* Get the hell out before I knock the Allspark out of you.

I'm tired, Deviantart is down, my salt and sinegar chips are gone, and Celestia still hasn't come to take me away to the land of magical ponies. Now I'm wondering what the odds are that today is the day we get the news that season 4 is the last one.

@Ms CC: I know, I thought it was just interesting to note how they treated her character a bit differently.

Yeah I think the writers went too far with Trixie, because I know Trixie was a jerkass, but I think she went too far when she enslaved Ponyville and tortured citizens.

I thought I was the only one who noticed Deviantart was down!

edited 6th Aug '13 6:03:53 PM by MsCC93

@King Kix Sorry it was just a silly typo.

edited 6th Aug '13 6:05:43 PM by Starscream759

Well to be fair, Trixie was kind of suffering from Evil Amulet Syndrome at the time. I doubt she's usually the type to take over towns.

I know that, I was agreeing with Japanese Teeth about her. I think people like Trixie more than Gilda because Trixie apologized and pulled a Heel Face Turn. Gilda, on the other hoof, refused to reason with Dash, refused to apologize for her bullying, and abandoned Dash (although she looked visibly hurt in the end).

Yeah, Trixie had her "Wow, I'm a leghole" realization moment.

The fuck?! I go to buy a lemonade from the vending machine, and it gives me two Full Throttle energy drinks instead, which I can't drink anyway because it's almost bedtime. The lemonade is still stuck in the vending machine plain to see, but I can't get it. How am I supposed to feel about this?