)
Maybe?
I'm not sure what happened to the writers during the making of season 8, and I don't think anybody's really sure, but I'm gonna say this: If this is the best they could do with Starlight, I'd ask for a rewrite and a different approach. Maybe more Starlight episodes for season 5 (2 episodes wasn't enough, and I'm pretty sure some people know it), showing some consequences in character's actions, like in Putting your hoof down and One bad apple, defining a character with her actions and personality instead of using magic for every single action, and trying to make a unique character instead of making a powerful unicorn (for example, I've seen some images of Luster Dawn and I wish Starlight looked more like that character, with a more balanced color selection for the character without making it too saturated).
Something like Bab Seed, Diamond Tiara in Crusaders of the Lost Mark, Princess Luna in Luna Eclipsed, Sunset Shimmer in Rainbow Rocks, Tempest Shadow in the MLP film... it's not that difficult. They can write that character.
Still,
I still don't know what happens in the rest of season 8 and the whole season 9, so I might need to finish it