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Season 9 Discussion Thread Anon 03/03/2019 (Sun) 22:42:35 [Preview] No. 3583
Ladies and gentlecolts! The final season of the legendary animated pony series from the 2010s is here!

The 4th generation of this franchise: My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic! This wild entertaining ride is actually ending!

The 9th season premieres on April and we´d better get ready to die (like Andrew W.K would say) because the last 26 episodes are coming this year, including the Rainbow Roadtrip special.

Any discussion, reflections, thoughts, theories, speculations... basically anything related to the episodes goes here.

You all know the deal. Like the old tradition for weddings: talk now or shut up forever before the nostalgia comes into your heads.

Links for streaming the upcoming episodes:

https://xxnightmaremoonxx.de/vweb/?page_id=79&page=9
https://yayponies.no/videos/episodes.php


Congratulations for reaching the end of this generation and let´s try to enjoy the pony material left as much as we can!


Anon 03/04/2019 (Mon) 08:02:08 [Preview] No.3592 del
>>3583
Nice job as always. I suppose the first order of bussiness shall be the first teaser.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=00pGnVS4_tQ [Embed]
This teaser, while too little to make much speculation on, has surprised me in one aspect well, besides Sombra
Notice that the student 6 are absent completely? Not even in the shot with the background characters. At this point I can't be one hundred percent sure, but my bet the whole flurry heart and Sombra deal is probably the first parter. One last traditional two parter for the mane perhaps?

Another possibility is that this whole bussiness with the Rainbow Roadtrip may play a role. Hasbro looks like they could be rolling out a toyline with this. If this is the case, if this is some kind of mane6 centered possibly having to do with the season's story arch toyline maybe the student got deemphasized a little. I mean they've done to much setting up to get rid of completely but the Student 6 themselves clearly disrupted the stuff they where setting up in the end of season 7. Too early to speculate becuase we have so little information but it's something I'd wonder considering them fighting King Sombra and going on a road trip certainly doesn't feel like they are putting quite as much emphasis on the school, at least for part of the season. Will have to wait for more before we can judge but I'm just putting it out there.
https://www.equestriadaily.com/2019/02/new-twilight-sparkle-popping-rainbow.html


Anon 03/04/2019 (Mon) 08:17:54 [Preview] No.3594 del
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Well well well. Look who has reared their head again after all this time. It's almost perfectly timed to cash in. Hmmmmmm.
https://www.equestriadaily.com/2019/03/filly-funtasia-arises-from-its-grave.html


Anon 03/05/2019 (Tue) 23:04:04 [Preview] No.3604 del
>>3592
>my bet is probably the first parter. One last traditional two parter for the mane perhaps?
for that deal, I suppose that involving the students into this would be too many character to show up on 44 minutes for such a plot device like this. This problem is kind of personal to them. Even if one feels that the mane 6 could get replaced, they have always dealt with the heavy part and left the chewed stuff for the rest (unless we are talking about To Where And Back Again).

>Hasbro looks like they could be rolling out a toyline with this
I´ve seen a post speculating that this production could have been the 2nd movie for gen 4 but decided to make an special instead. I cannot complain about that decision if that rumor is true.
>I mean they've done to much setting up to get rid of completely but the Student 6 themselves clearly disrupted the stuff they where setting up in the end of season 7.
we will see. Keep in mind that this teaser shows pretty much nothing, let alone if they appear in a couple of scenes of this premiere.

>going on a road trip certainly doesn't feel like they are putting quite as much emphasis on the school, at least for part of the season.
I have my suspicions that the students aren´t the main stars over there....I am imagining certain directions for it though.


Anon 03/05/2019 (Tue) 23:20:53 [Preview] No.3605 del
(1.67 MB 800x800 thinking emoji.gif)
>>3594
>Look who has reared their head again after all this time. It's almost perfectly timed to cash in

Filly Funstasia... arriving exactly next week when it was supposed to be dead and there haven´t been almost little to zero news about it in the meantime.

It´s not like they have postponed it just to figure out that there was an audience who´s running out of fresh content next year and have a free ticket for the market.

GEEEEE
I wonder why they decided to do this, can you even have an idea of that move?. It really makes you think, darling.


Anon 03/08/2019 (Fri) 23:21:22 [Preview] No.3617 del
you have met a terrible fate,don't you?

mostly because there are new screenshots and a new trailer

bonus points if you get this reference


Anon 03/08/2019 (Fri) 23:38:42 [Preview] No.3618 del
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>>3617
Just looked at the trailer...

WHAT!?!

Yes I do indeed get the reference... link


Anon 03/08/2019 (Fri) 23:48:52 [Preview] No.3619 del
** >
In the back-to-back season premiere episodes, titled "The Beginning of the End," Princess Celestia and Princess Luna decide to retire and hand off the ruling of Equestria to Twilight Sparkle and her friends, which sends Twilight into a tailspin of self-doubt. Meanwhile, an ancient villain bands together a legion of nefarious characters to conquer all of Equestria, challenging Twilight Sparkle and the rest of the Mane 6 to step in and save the day. **
This is... fan fiction.

I had always speculated somepony was going to have to give. Well techincally I still could be very wrong I wonder if the the princesses are still going to be in the show 90% sure yes but there is a chance that they may have them go out somewhere else and only come back for a couple of episodes.


Anon 03/08/2019 (Fri) 23:56:30 [Preview] No.3620 del
(3.38 MB 5000x5000 1551692284588.jpg)
>>3619
Opps, spoiler fail.


Anon 03/09/2019 (Sat) 00:06:02 [Preview] No.3621 del
>>3619
>This is... fan fiction.
indeed. If you posted this around the 2nd season,it would be every brony's edgy wet dream.
However,this show has jumped over the shark so many times that the shark went onto a vacation period and get to a point where fanfiction is canon in Equestria. You cannot tell if this was actually possible to apply but it seems that this show wants to cover everything.

You said this in Nightmare Knights and I will repeat one famous line from a very well known princess: "There is no wrong way to fantasize"

...until you decide to put it on practice.

>I had always speculated somepony was going to have to give.
well,that's a better excuse than making them weak.

>sure yes but there is a chance that they may have them go out somewhere else and only come back for a couple of episodes.
I kind of doubt so. It's not like they were very present all the time but they have been part of this from the start so I guess that we will see them until the very end of this gen....

unless they start a big journey and deliver an entire spin off season based around them


Anon 03/09/2019 (Sat) 00:13:30 [Preview] No.3622 del
>>3618
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WGzluZxmsGQ[/spoiler]

what's worse is that this show has less than 10 months left to hold its lifetime. I suppose we will all be "healed" at the end of the day...

in theory...


Anon 03/09/2019 (Sat) 01:05:08 [Preview] No.3624 del
My fave reactions so far...


Anon 03/09/2019 (Sat) 01:11:48 [Preview] No.3625 del
>>3624
>perfectly good characters
eeeyup,autistic screeching at its finest. It's not like Celestia was an aechetype and didn't know what to do with her because of her complex backstory,isn't it?

about the 2nd screencap....
top kek, that anon would rate your Revolution fic a 10 out of 10 and you would earn a new fan. If he read it tonight,he would probably find some sleep.


Anon 03/09/2019 (Sat) 01:14:04 [Preview] No.3626 del
>>3621
>unless they start a big journey and deliver an entire spin off season based around them
You, that ain't impossible to be honest. Heck, I could even see slight possibilities of wilder fanservice, such as EqG having them pop up durring the transition period to the new show once or twice...

>However,this show has jumped over the shark so many times that the shark went onto a vacation period and get to a point where fanfiction is canon in Equestria. You cannot tell if this was actually possible to apply but it seems that this show wants to cover everything.
I have so many questions. I'm both nervous and excited but depending on the dynamic and what is brought to the table it could be weird. The past two seasons have been lower teir fan fiction. I mean adding a bunch of OCs and bringing so many characters from the past all in one huge blender is a hallmark of fanfic. But we are truly crossing over into the Twilight Zone literally I guess if we are going into... higher tier fanfiction.


Anon 03/09/2019 (Sat) 01:17:53 [Preview] No.3627 del
>>3625
>eeeyup,autistic screeching at its finest. It's not like Celestia was an aechetype and didn't know what to do with her because of her complex backstory,isn't it?
I'm not sure on Celestia (as I've said it'd tak me a long time to explain my thoughts on her). Luna I actually can understand a bit but it's way too early to judge.


Anon 03/09/2019 (Sat) 01:20:34 [Preview] No.3628 del
>>3625
Maybe he would. Maybe I'll make a sequal to it and post it all on /mlp/ sometime soon though I had another fic in mind first, but that one is a surprise


Anon 03/09/2019 (Sat) 01:31:54 [Preview] No.3629 del
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(7.57 KB 316x94 possible_tbh.png)
This.


Anon 03/09/2019 (Sat) 01:39:49 [Preview] No.3630 del
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>>3629
And if not Twilight is gonna be pics related entire season.


Anon 03/09/2019 (Sat) 01:42:14 [Preview] No.3631 del
>>3630
Didn't mean to spolier those.


Anon 03/09/2019 (Sat) 22:52:07 [Preview] No.3636 del
>>3626
>I could even see slight possibilities of wilder fanservice
from this show, you basically can expect everything and nothing at the same time. This is why I have no expectations.

> have so many questions. I'm both nervous and excited but depending on the dynamic and what is brought to the table it could be weird.
so do I. I try not to think too much about it because it can to any direction they want to and they will get away with most of the time. This is a show that relies more on interactions between the characters, it doesn´t take bets for a complicated plot (normally)

>The past two seasons have been lower teir fan fiction. I mean adding a bunch of OCs and bringing so many characters from the past all in one huge blender is a hallmark of fanfic. But we are truly crossing over into the Twilight Zone literally I guess if we are going into... higher tier fanfiction.
consider the following. The Mane 6 have been through so many adventures that it´s become almost a routine for them to the point where barely anything surprises them. Yes, those same cute ponies that everyone laughed at and you could describe them as incompetent and flawed (they were scared about the Everfree Forest) anti heroes have dealt and survived more than MMORPG characters.
There is a line from Cadence that she repeated a couple of times and it´s that Twilight´s life is so interesting because nothing like that happens in the Crystal Empire, far from that the events over there are more mundane than the adventures we see.

What´s even more ironic and funny is that when they have to deal with their usual lives,they can deal with them as if nothing extraordinary happened. Even more, when anything menacing happens in Ponyville, even background ponies barely get surprised by it.

So, are we entering into high levels of fanfiction or were their characters alone the actual definition of fanfiction in the first place?

>>3627
>Luna I actually can understand a bit but it's way too early to judge.
well yeah, we´ll have to see. This is nothing more than a plot device for the premiere. Maybe the 6th episode (or whatever) is about them, who knows?

>I'll make a sequal to it and post it all on /mlp/ sometime soon though I had another fic in mind first, but that one is a surprise
definitely they have given you ideas without asking them...

Priceless, that´s all I can say.


Anon 03/09/2019 (Sat) 23:02:30 [Preview] No.3637 del
>>3629
they did it again for the...

I have lost the count. I wonder if they have beaten princess Peach at this point. I suppose that´s what the princess title is for.

>>3630
come on, it´s Twilight!
We all know how she acts by this point..... unless you see her spiritual clone back again


Anon 03/15/2019 (Fri) 09:17:05 [Preview] No.3679 del
>>3637
>I have lost the count. I wonder if they have beaten princess Peach at this point. I suppose that´s what the princess title is for.
Though I have far more thoughts on the subject, the simplest thing to say is that they have gotten the same treatment as a certain Klingon...


Anon 03/15/2019 (Fri) 22:52:35 [Preview] No.3683 del
>>3679
>the simplest thing to say is that they have gotten the same treatment as a certain Klingon
is that a Star Trek reference?


Anon 03/15/2019 (Fri) 22:59:16 [Preview] No.3684 del
also, not completely season 9 related but it seems that the student 6 are getting their first waves of merchandise and...

this is Hasbro what we are talking about, right? Because there´s no way any other company would dismiss one of its characters that it tried to promote last year.

What do they have against Ocellus? Are they afraid of selling her to the public?
The solution for that is....replacing her with the student that wanted friendship for power.

At least, if Hasbro wants to sell merchandise from the villains, they´d better add a cool figure of Chrysalis, The Pony of Shadows or Sombra.

Anyway, the picture speaks for itself.


Anon 03/16/2019 (Sat) 18:42:19 [Preview] No.3698 del
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>>3683
Worf has become associated with a character who is said to be strong but just becomes a stepping stone to show how threating something is.


Anon 03/16/2019 (Sat) 18:55:51 [Preview] No.3699 del
>>3684
https://www.mlpmerch.com/2019/03/basic-fun-reveals-series-3-stackems.html
>Almost the whole "Young Six" is included: Sandbar, Silverstream, Yona, Gallus and Smolder and at last Cozy Glow. So no Ocellus sadly. (or perhaps she's in disguise... *looks at Cozy Glow*
Maybe they are right and she is disguised as a Cozy Glow.

Though seriously why Cozy Glow is going to be released with the student 6 and not freaking Ocellus? I wonder what sort of weird logic is going into that considering they were pushing the student 6 as a group last season...

Is Ocellus the new Spike?.


Anon 03/16/2019 (Sat) 23:34:07 [Preview] No.3708 del
>>3698
>Worf has become associated with a character who is said to be strong but just becomes a stepping stone to show how threating something is.
that description comes dangerously close to what the princesses have done for a long time, especially Celestia in the first seasons (this menace is coming, go here, I look powerful to do it but I leave the task to you and you friends. Good luck and come and visit me whenever you end the quest).

Hell, even if we go a little bit further with these descriptions, we can certainly say that Celestia is almost like that NPC who is there to introduce you to the next mission in a video game.


Anon 03/16/2019 (Sat) 23:57:23 [Preview] No.3710 del
>>3699
>Maybe they are right and she is disguised as a Cozy Glow.
even if they were right, has the marketing staff stopped and thought for a little bit? I know it´s only mindless merchandise but it´s really funny to point it out anyway.

>Though seriously why Cozy Glow is going to be released with the student 6 and not freaking Ocellus? I wonder what sort of weird logic is going into that considering they were pushing the student 6 as a group last season...
if any parent bought that toy to that kid and that kid hasn´t watched the show, how can they tell that is Ocellus or Cozy Glow? They will say that it´s Cozy Glow and I would do that as well.

First, Ocellus, as far as I know maybe I am wrong, hasn´t transformed into Cozy Glow so far. Secondly, Thorax said to her that she should keep her true form because that´s better and she obeyed. She only has disguised herself counted times (and even then, you could tell her that it was her clearly when she changed into a seapony or a piranha in NCC. I think you could only mistake her when she turned into Rarity and Chrysalis by accident). They could have used the blue eyes from the seapony form and you would see her to some extent at first sight.

And lastly, out of the changelings that could have been disguised, they choose Ocellus....and when you see check her tag on Derpibooru, about 90% of the images related to her are in her original body...

Hasbro almost nails it in reverse.

>Is Ocellus the new Spike?
I don´t know. A few would have bet that the new Spike would be Sandbar but it seems that this timeline goes into another direction.


Anon 04/05/2019 (Fri) 05:37:20 [Preview] No.3875 del
Season 9 is almost here /endpone/.

Are you ready?

Do you fear it?

Are you hopeful?

Will are expectations be met? Exceed? Will it be a dumpster fire?

... maybe all of the above.

Still, it is now the final day before the last new start to our beloved pony show. What better way to watch the end than with the anons at the /end/?
ALL DECKS, MAN YOUR BATTLESTATIONS! WE ARE ENTERING RED ALERT!


Anon 04/05/2019 (Fri) 05:45:40 [Preview] No.3876 del
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>>3710
I still find that marketing decision quite strange.

>I don´t know. A few would have bet that the new Spike would be Sandbar but it seems that this timeline goes into another direction.
I know. I mean Sandbar even getting yona Totally not what I was expecting. He looks like he's gonna do well for himself. Time will tell for the others but he is certainly far from Spike... Though it feels like since 2016 everything been this whole, "hey, ya'know, let's go with option B instead of events fitting into our expectations!". I'm not just talking about politics either...

>>3708
Sometime later this season there is going to be a whole mega post on that very topic.


Anon 04/05/2019 (Fri) 05:49:49 [Preview] No.3877 del
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Watch Hasbro pull something out of left field for the final like giving everypony mech action figure suits for a final send off to sell toys. (Though tbh, that's probably the tv special).

It seems I have lied, as I have been quite active and shitposty tonight


Anon 04/06/2019 (Sat) 07:47:57 [Preview] No.3891 del
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I'm exhausted so the replies will come later...

but right now the final hours before the last hiatus ends are at hoof...

so, everypony here be ready.


Anon 04/06/2019 (Sat) 07:58:10 [Preview] No.3892 del
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With any luck I probably will be able to watch this tomorrow. though I never know if my father/grandfather has any plans I may even live shitpost if y'all are all here at the same time... even if it's not doable I'll shitpost


It's a real haunting moment. It's been a constant in the background of my life since at least mid 2011 (at least that's when I was fully visiting fandom sites). I don't know what the future holds, but I can tell you that even if I have reservations I am far from a doomer. In these last hours of before the final season, I honestly don't know what to fully feel but I am still excited about seeing it.

Okay, done rambling. See ya bo l23 ! See everypony on the otherside of the show.

May we enjoy it.


Anon 04/06/2019 (Sat) 18:23:16 [Preview] No.3893 del
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Whelp, I'm going in. See y'all on the other side if I can load it that is


Anon 04/06/2019 (Sat) 19:51:32 [Preview] No.3894 del
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my face right now


Anon 04/06/2019 (Sat) 19:55:47 [Preview] No.3895 del
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I'm only 2 minutes in and already freaking out. though I already have a sense where this is going


Anon 04/06/2019 (Sat) 19:58:18 [Preview] No.3896 del
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this moment, it's finally here...


Anon 04/06/2019 (Sat) 20:07:39 [Preview] No.3897 del
mane 5 have gone mad with power if they that this will be aa good idea/easy...
I'd think at least AJ or Flutters would be more reluctant wouldn't ya think?


Anon 04/06/2019 (Sat) 20:14:31 [Preview] No.3898 del
now this is me upon finding out that in a few days I'm gonna be the absolute ruler of the main superpower of my world ad me being the only thing standing between all the other factions to that power...


Anon 04/06/2019 (Sat) 20:25:30 [Preview] No.3899 del
** >if ya think about it the princesses almost never helped
an interesting line, I'm gonna stop shitposting at the moment ad go into watch mode, but there are several places this could go that I think are a bit more interesting if they go a certain direction... **


Anon 04/06/2019 (Sat) 20:53:17 [Preview] No.3900 del
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
How are they gonna fit the rest of that in 22 minutes!


Anon 04/06/2019 (Sat) 21:24:41 [Preview] No.3901 del
So that was all completely unexpected for me. Princess Luna and Celestia weren't worfed this time. Their IQ may have took a massive hit with this though

Season arch!?


I don't know what to say, or when my full review is coming maybe later today maybe tomorrow depending on other factors

Just wow... that was pretty epic. Not sure how I entirely feel on it all but it was epic.


Anon 04/06/2019 (Sat) 22:06:28 [Preview] No.3902 del
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>>3901
>Princess Luna and Celestia weren't worfed this time
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


Anon 04/06/2019 (Sat) 22:57:28 [Preview] No.3903 del
yeah, I have read your posts and it seems that it´s going to be epic


Anon 04/06/2019 (Sat) 23:47:02 [Preview] No.3905 del
>>3902
still may be disappointed, as it was still more of a secondary role, but hey, it's better direction than them being captured for X time


Anon 04/06/2019 (Sat) 23:47:38 [Preview] No.3906 del
>>3903
good luck!


Anon 04/07/2019 (Sun) 01:30:09 [Preview] No.3913 del
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Review and speculation coming after I watch this again. Though I think I'm leaning more positive than negative


Anon 04/07/2019 (Sun) 01:34:00 [Preview] No.3914 del
>>3913
though some ponies perhaps acted a little odd...


Anon 04/09/2019 (Tue) 03:11:32 [Preview] No.3918 del
Alright here is my review. A little late because I really had to think about this one... truth is I still am.

Alright, what I liked first: The Villains chemistry was actually pretty good, I was especially surprised that I liked Cozy Glow a lot in her brief scenes considering I was a bit underwhelmed, though I didn't hate her, in her previous appearances. I was also surprised that I don't think the pacing is bad, because that seemed to be a complaint even among people who liked it, but it isn't too me. Despite the transition from TS going to rule Equestria to Villains to Sombra losing to Sombra winning to Everfree going crazy to Sombra being defeated again. I actually thought they did a okay job with the jumping around this time, which surprises me. By far the stronger part is the second. I really could feel the stakes this time. I felt the desperation and the hopelessness of the mane 6. By far the highlight for me was the final confrontation with Sombra. Wow that was epic. I think this is one of the best time's Discord was ever used and I was almost thought they'd actually have him be hurt or incapacitated in a way that would parallel death. That was intense in a way that I'm surprised they went to, even for a death fakeout. Sombra's final defeat with the elements slowly walking to him with Twilight blocking his magical attacks was my favorite moment. That was just cool.

However, now comes my ambivalence with this. I thought it was epic after first viewing but something didn't sit right with me even after watching it. I couldn't quite place my hoof on it. The main issue I had with at first was how arbitrary Celestia and Luna acted with the transfer of power. I was so surprised with their genuine plan to do it in a few days and it not being a ruse, especially since Twilight pointed it out after they said it. It makes no sense and seems stupid even for MLP logic. Secondary was the mane5 almost meta attitude of just rolling with being in charge just like that. It seems to me that they should be show a little hesitance and be shocked even if they liked it. The only one I see just going accepting it outright is Pinkie Pie, with RD and probably Rarity warming to it pretty quickly. Though I'll have to go back and look through the canon before I can fully judge the mane6 here. Perhaps their various exploits by this point would make them have such a confidence. Perhaps there is something I'm forgetting that would help it make sense. Still, even with that something didn't click with me till second viewing that I think is why I feel so weird about it.

It's season 4's final + season 4's Premiere's problem wrapped together into one. TS being in charge, the elements of harmony being gone as a plot device, and them defeating the villain after he removed what he thought was the only thing that could stop him. I can't call it exact copy because it's not the same morals but it is strikingly similar situations. What does this make me say my final verdict is? I honestly don't know. The only part I'm dead set against is the princesses' confusing logic and even then if there is a season arch going on I'm not sure if there could be others reasons. The rest just gives me pause from giving guising praise but I don't feel I want to give it the coals either. I feel I think overall positive but I'm not sure I've reached my final verdict and I feel like my views on it will evolve as the season progresses.


Anon 04/09/2019 (Tue) 03:36:34 [Preview] No.3919 del
>>3918
Something I'd like to also emphasize is how their were other elements that got me caught of guard in a positive way too. Which is why I have a hard time saying I dislike it.

Discord. He was used perfectly. I have no other words to describe it. His death fakeout almost tricked me. When it was reviled that he was just pretending to be hurt it was two fold awesome. He wasn't just simply nerfed and written off and his motivations not only make sense here but even back to what was hinted in the season 4 final. His is slowly testing Twilight and is trying to prepare her. This is the first time I think I feel fully 100% on board with his redemption. I had liked him in other episodes and thought he made alright for fan service, but I always felt a slight reluctance with how he was handled/him being there just for fanservice points.

Cozy Glow I was surprised that I like her but I think her happy cute exterior work extremely well with the other villians. Though I wouldn't be able to judge till the season is done, I think I'm going to be enjoying her more than I thought.

Despite my grumblings with how the mane5 acted way too chill with the whole transition of power. They helping Twilight calm down and backing her up was nice and sweet.


Anon 04/12/2019 (Fri) 04:31:42 [Preview] No.3939 del
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Been still trying to process the premier. Though I will offer one semi-crackpot theory while I wait for the 3rd episode. Ya 'know how Twilight got all sparkly when she used the elements of friendship without the elements to defeat Sombra? Part of me wonders if the upcoming episode will have Treelight and Twilight be connected as one soul or something like that. If we go by the sudden season 1 logic about how they were elements the whole time and that the jewelry was just the focus of the power they already had then they could try something...


Anon 04/12/2019 (Fri) 04:33:08 [Preview] No.3940 del
>>3939
Ya'know, I'm not sure I like the way I worded that but I think I got my point out there so there will be a record if I'm even half right.


Anon 04/12/2019 (Fri) 21:29:34 [Preview] No.3944 del
>>3918
>Villains chemistry was actually pretty good, I was especially surprised that I liked Cozy Glow a lot in her brief scenes considering I was a bit underwhelmed, though I didn't hate her, in her previous appearances.
yeah, I also find pretty funny that Tirek and Chrysalis look like the ordinary baddies in comparison to Grogar (like Grubber with the Storm King, same for them in this opener). Cozy Glow, despite her menacing look in the cliffhanger of School Raze, she acts like the comic relief that gives the villains a bit of a slice of life feeling and lowers the tensions of those characters. Definitely a highlight in which one can find a couple of laughs from that hostile environment.

>I was also surprised that I don't think the pacing is bad, because that seemed to be a complaint even among people who liked it, but it isn't too me.
me neither. How is the pacing a problem here? I think I should explain this as well but people seem to be pointing out a flaw that sounds out of place for this episode.

>I actually thought they did a okay job with the jumping around this time, which surprises me.
honestly, I don´t find the pacing troublesome at all. In fact, the pacing is made on purpose and I will say one possible controversial thing: the action scenes (when they require action and not dialog) were the most boring parts to me because it´s the usual setup that we are used to seeing. They showed how Sombra conquered the Crystal Empire and how the mane 6 defeated him with little time in the process because there is nothing interesting to say about it. In fact, I think I value more another thing: character interactions and how Discord plays a part on the episode, having an odd role that seRved in the end.

>I felt the desperation and the hopelessness of the mane 6.
yeah, that radical change from the first episode dealing with the villain as usual deal to having an absolute disaster on two sides really puts you on their situation. Celestia, Luna and Starswirl really calmed down the situation when they came to help the mane 6.

>one of the best time's Discord was ever used and I was almost thought they'd actually have him be hurt or incapacitated in a way that would parallel death.
>That was intense in a way that I'm surprised they went to, even for a death fakeout. Sombra's final defeat with the elements slowly walking to him with Twilight blocking his magical attacks was my favorite moment. That was just cool.
that moment was indeed a GOAT tier act from him. He´s played the role of annoying the mane 6 (especially Twilight) and staying in the castle when the world was going down, but there is one single moment in which despite playing a fakeout, he felt that magic inside his head (when he defeated the guards and the mane 6 thanked him for the task).

Out of all the characters that could have encouraged the mane 6, it´s not Starswirl, nor any of the princesses nor any leader that has deep knowledge of the elements....but from the same Lord of Chaos who have dealt a lot of times and put them into really absurd situations. That same character goes and delivers one of the most emotive moments for the resolution of a desperate situation. Discord comes in and brings a reminder that we all have known since the beginning of this series and it´s cliché as hell, but never expected to hear it coming from him, much less with a toned down voice which made him sound like a heavenly god for a while.
A motivational moment that indeed, deserves to be remembered as one of the best moments from him and in the series. A simple speech that makes more impact than one could have imagined.

My respects for his character.When you think that you couldn´t be surprised at all, the writers go and put him in the spotlight (I do believe he is placed subtly all the time for it). Bravo.


Anon 04/12/2019 (Fri) 22:11:49 [Preview] No.3945 del
>>3918
>I thought it was epic after first viewing but something didn't sit right with me even after watching it. I couldn't quite place my hoof on it.
I had a sense that this episode wasn´t meant to be focused on action. Check how short the times are for Sombra´s conquests, how the Mane 6 defeat him and solve it almost instantly. Maybe this episode doesn´t seem to go into the action direction, I see the action as a means to an end and that´s.....the interactions between the mane 6.
People are not taking into account little detail of how Twilight acts in such predictable way to the the point where Pinkie and Dolores use a verb for that constant cycle, how they judge themselves at dealing with the villains (listing all those quests), how Discord reminds and looks down at the predictable path of how the mane 6 are the obvious path to solve everything, how they react when they are trapped (Pinkie should be making a joke at those moment but she doesn´t)....

there is something fishy in this opener and I am writing these thoughts that lead me to think that the "action" scenes were the most boring parts. Ironic, considering that I love Twilight´s Kingdom.

>I was so surprised with their genuine plan to do it in a few days and it not being a ruse, especially since Twilight pointed it out after they said it. It makes no sense and seems stupid even for MLP logic.
yeah,it´s certainly odd and questionable from their part to do that in such a rushed way. How much time did they think about it? Did they drop those lines because they wanted a vacation that quick?
Although I will say that the writers are following this path because Faust wanted Twilight to be Celestia´s successor so this makes perfect sense but the plot device could have been a little bit less of a sudden event.

>Perhaps their various exploits by this point would make them have such a confidence. Perhaps there is something I'm forgetting that would help it make sense
see >>3636. They have faced so many adventures that the extraordinary becomes ordinary, they have survived and gone through events that surpasses a lot of video game characters. The movie, the Cutie Map, Shadow Play, FiM, Return of Harmony, A Canterlot Wedding..... do Flim and Flam count? I mean, they go meta because they have had a lot of difficult experiences that seem easy in retrospective. See how they acted back in Dragonshy or Friendship is Magic to such confidence like shown in the movie, the Tartarus or in this opener. There is no color and what´s even more impressive is that they act as usual when these events don´t happen. We joke a lot about Celestia being like the closest thing to a goddess, but the protagonists sure bring more magic by having like 3 or 4 lives at once (adventures, their jobs and usual routine on their trajectories, diplomacy and teachers). If that´s not magic, tell me what it is because wow, they have done really varied things.

>I can't call it exact copy because it's not the same morals but it is strikingly similar situations.
the premiere is nothing new.....but was it made in that way on purpose? I have mentioned the twilightning, the villains count, Discord´s behavior towards the obvious selection of the chosen one (Twilight) and how the elements are not vital...

I will say this but I consider this episode like the elements: the action isn´t what really matters but a tool for more interactions between the characters and that´s how they have solved it. Same with the elements, the elements served as device for defeating the villains but it was the ponified embodiment of them that actually call the shots.

Someone would call me a Hasdrone for not being somewhat harsh with it but the biggest flaw that I have had with the opener were the action scenes in which they were mostly mute. Those parts felt like necessary filer to me and to my relief, they happened quickly for a reason.


Anon 04/12/2019 (Fri) 22:26:31 [Preview] No.3946 del
>>3919
>Discord. He was used perfectly. I have no other words to describe it. His death fakeout almost tricked me. When it was reviled that he was just pretending to be hurt it was two fold awesome. He wasn't just simply nerfed and written off and his motivations not only make sense here but even back to what was hinted in the season 4 final. His is slowly testing Twilight and is trying to prepare her. This is the first time I think I feel fully 100% on board with his redemption

this. You have worded it better than I would. It´s like he has acted in a way that Celestia did in Horse Play: so close to trick everyone out there because of how genuine their thought are.
This time, only that emotional fakeout happens but the main characters and him laugh at the fact that it actually occurred. FiM is special at this. It manages to get in serious business and then, laugh and not take itself seriously. That charm truly sells the show. Just because of this philosophy, the series is really hard to beat and manages to go anywhere it wants.

>I think I'm going to be enjoying her more than I thought.
yeah me too. Episode 9 is going to be fun just because of her presence.

>They helping Twilight calm down and backing her up was nice and sweet.
/mlp/ used that image of all their hooves together and the mane 5 staring happily at her. That little moment holds something special and brings back that feeling of: "Best friends until the end of the time". At least, for one last time....


Anon 04/12/2019 (Fri) 22:45:52 [Preview] No.3947 del
>>3939
>how Twilight got all sparkly when she used the elements of friendship without the elements to defeat Sombra?
wot? I haven´t noticed it even though I saw they shone the rainbow much brighter than the first time.

>Part of me wonders if the upcoming episode will have Treelight and Twilight be connected as one soul or something like that.
definitely the next episode with the students will bring a few aspects that are more interesting. What we have seen in this episode was.....nothing new and the characters acknowledge it. Hell, they even said that Celestia and Luna hadn´t helped all that much in their quests. The biggest accomplishment of this episode was the summary of how the protagonists deal with a threat, how Starswirl enters into the resolution and the most important scene of all:Discord at giving a motivational message.

>If we go by the sudden season 1 logic about how they were elements the whole time and that the jewelry was just the focus of the power they already had then they could try something...
they were devices and "a guide" to show their friendship power. They no longer need them because they have realized that their union is what it has helped them. They didn´t need the elements all the time and they have confirmed that those tiaras have run their course.
Now.....why the spirit of the tree has gone fully independent and become a separate entity? Why is it in the form of Twilight? Those questions are what one should be asking and bother me because the tree is secretly noticed by other 6 characters. The opener started with its death, the next one should define and give us information about its resurrection by choosing the student 6.


It seems that we are watching the 2nd part of What Lies Beneath tomorrow...


Anon 04/13/2019 (Sat) 20:36:21 [Preview] No.3952 del
Folks, according to /mlp/, we are dealing with one of the worst episodes of the show.

Yes, it has managed to receive worse ratings than Non Compete Clause.

We are going for a wild ride here all over again.

Uprooted gets more negative ratings than the infamous season 8 episode. Wow! That´s saying something. I will need to watch it properly twice, because the hot opinions have already spoken on Strawpoll.


Anon 04/13/2019 (Sat) 20:57:44 [Preview] No.3953 del
is he lying or has he denied the most discussed ship of this generation?
There are no more season coming after this one so...


Anon 04/13/2019 (Sat) 22:03:45 [Preview] No.3956 del
>>3944
>>3945
>>3946
>Cozy Glow, despite her menacing look in the cliffhanger of School Raze, she acts like the comic relief that gives the villains a bit of a slice of life feeling and lowers the tensions of those characters. Definitely a highlight in which one can find a couple of laughs from that hostile environment.
>yeah me too. Episode 9 is going to be fun just because of her presence.
It feels like she feels (Though I maybe jumping he gun) a more fully realized character here. Last season I gave her some points for being unique and I felt like they were trying to mix it up, but I was still unsure a bit and found her a bit strange of being this filly who came out of o where. Here I feel more forgiving of her flaws and her traits better utilized.

>me neither. How is the pacing a problem here?
I see we are on the same page here. I mean, maybe it was from me trying to cherish it, but even on second viewing it didn't pass fast or feel out of place to me.

>I will say one possible controversial thing: the action scenes (when they require action and not dialog) were the most boring parts to me because it´s the usual setup that we are used to seeing.
>there is something fishy in this opener and I am writing these thoughts that lead me to think that the "action" scenes were the most boring parts. Ironic, considering that I love Twilight´s Kingdom.
Other than my favorite part being the action in the end with Discord's death fake out and the bearers taking out Sombra, I fully agree. The other action was just there because of going through the motions. Unlike the A Canterlot Wedding or Twilight's Kingdom the action there wasn't a special treat and the fighting that did happen was simply what was required.

>A motivational moment that indeed, deserves to be remembered as one of the best moments from him and in the series
>It´s like he has acted in a way that Celestia did in Horse Play: so close to trick everyone out there because of how genuine their thought are.
It's the only part of the special that I feel like I can just really gush over. I'd just be repeating myself though. Already though one of my favorite moments in the series.

> yeah,it´s certainly odd and questionable from their part to do that in such a rushed way. How much time did they think about it? Did they drop those lines because they wanted a vacation that quick?
As I said, my main problem with it. I understand what they are trying to facilitate but them trying to make a full transition in such a short period. Especially with Twilight even pointing it out within the episode how it was illogical. I was sure it was a fake out and was completely shocked when Celestia and Luna had said that in a completely sober mind without being replaced or mind controlled. Makes me wonder if it was suppose to be that in an earlier draft.

> see >>3636. They have faced so many adventures that the extraordinary becomes ordinary,
Still a little on the fence here, but this is a very good point. Regardless whether I like it or not it is only a nitpick.

>the premiere is nothing new.....but was it made in that way on purpose?
True. Though some of it makes me feel a little off, others I can see it understandable to revisit.

...though, regardless of some small criticisms and one moderate sized one. I think I'm overall pic related.


Anon 04/13/2019 (Sat) 22:12:25 [Preview] No.3957 del
(44.18 KB 418x303 1989142.png)
>>3947
>It seems that we are watching the 2nd part of What Lies Beneath tomorrow...

And it has come. It looks like...
>>3952
Oof. That ain't good. I will probably be posting my review in the next couple of days when I have a chance to catch it. I will avoid the ponynet till I see it. For all I know I could love it and it could be my favorite of the series.


Anon 04/13/2019 (Sat) 22:19:10 [Preview] No.3958 del
>>3953
Well, they already denied Dislestia (unless that's what they are making room for! </sarcasm> ) My first bet would be that he is telling the truth. I wouldn't think they'd have it go past a friendship on screen. Though for all I know this is a lie and they could make it de facto confirmed like with Bon Bon and Lyra.


Anon 04/13/2019 (Sat) 23:00:03 [Preview] No.3961 del
Did spolier myself but did go into the thread to archive it. And I saw this comment. So my second crackpot theory is that they killed Treelight and everyone is butthurt.


Anon 04/15/2019 (Mon) 00:33:08 [Preview] No.3964 del
POLS
so it seems that Uprooted has caused negative reactions over there.However,this could be like the pacing complaint of the opener and maybe turn into a personal favorite. Who knows? The point of the ride is judging by one self the episodes and then,discuss them with other opinions on the table.

What's exactly wrong with it?
How can it be considered a worse episode than Non Compete Clause (with more votes on its poll)?

Maybe is it because of the staff's decisions again? the interactions between the characters? the lack of surprises? Or has this whole reaction come into a palpable disappointment because of the expectations behind it?

I have watched it btw,just that I haven't entered into the spoilers zone yet. Without getting into it,one can feel that drama from a distance


Anon 04/15/2019 (Mon) 08:23:22 [Preview] No.3965 del
>>3583
PoLS as well.

Started to watch it but got interrupted, didn't really see anything spoliery yet.

See ya here in a day or so with my thoughts!


Anon 04/15/2019 (Mon) 13:04:33 [Preview] No.3967 del
>>3956
>It feels like she feels (Though I maybe jumping he gun) a more fully realized character here.
yeah, despite her introduction in Marks for Affection, I like her better with this dynamic. Instead of pretending that she is a good filly, it feels more rewarding to watch her actual personality and her spontaneous reactions as the events happen.

>I was still unsure a bit and found her a bit strange of being this filly who came out of o where.
yeah, we have been playing guessing games in order to see the exact moment when she reveals to be an actual villain. With that prejudice gone...

>I feel more forgiving of her flaws and her traits better utilized.
well, you´ve definitely said it.

>maybe it was from me trying to cherish it, but even on second viewing it didn't pass fast or feel out of place to me.
people judge way too quick an entire episode and the experts recommend a 2nd watch in order to notice all the details you could have missed. And if I have felt that way with the opener,I don´t want to tell you with Uprooted....

What´s coming next could be the peak of not judging things in a heated way and before jumping into conclusions, feel completely sure about how you see it. Uprooted to me, is a whole new level of a reaction that I don´t share with them for some reason. I´ll explain it later.

>the action there wasn't a special treat and the fighting that did happen was simply what was required.
the worst part of it is that you could sum up those moments with two simple sentences: "Sombra takes over the Crystal Empire and traps the owners" and "The Mane 6 solve the disaster with Rainbow Magic". That´s it. If they took such little time with those sequences and they didn´t dig deeper,it´s simply because there was nothing particularly interesting that could have gone different, just one route events.

>It's the only part of the special that I feel like I can just really gush over. I'd just be repeating myself though
yeah, I think words spare for describing that moment. It´s already made its mark, that´s the most important thing.

>I was sure it was a fake out and was completely shocked when Celestia and Luna had said that in a completely sober mind without being replaced or mind controlled. Makes me wonder if it was suppose to be that in an earlier draft.
unless they wanted to play 4D chess with her all over again, yeah that decision felt kind of weird and even admitted it. Yeah, there could have been a drastic change on the script or simply used it as a plot device for making the plot run with less air time, so Sombra doesn´t face the princesses directly when he gets to conquer Canterlot.

>Regardless whether I like it or not it is only a nitpick.
yeah, but I like discussing things for the sake of discussion....sometimes. I´ve felt like pointing out that.

>regardless of some small criticisms and one moderate sized one
yet it isn´t the best opener out there. A pretty solid one to watch but I think that Return of Harmony is the one that holds the title. But yeah,the last opener hasn´t failed so we are moving onto different roots....


Anon 04/15/2019 (Mon) 13:24:23 [Preview] No.3968 del
>>3957
>That ain't good. I will probably be posting my review in the next couple of days when I have a chance to catch it. I will avoid the ponynet till I see it. For all I know I could love it and it could be my favorite of the series.
erm, yes. I recommend having your own view on it before seeing any other opinions out there (including mine which I am going to post next).

>they already denied Dislestia (unless that's what they are making room for! </sarcasm>
kek, that would make our brains explode. I guess that we are going to live with "tense" expectations until the ending comes because of questionable gestures between those two, making it seem like Lyra and Bon Bon status.

>My first bet would be that he is telling the truth. I wouldn't think they'd have it go past a friendship on screen.
most likely. I am not one of those fans who is left draining his head if Fluttershy gets shipped or not, giving constant spins of having a waifu stolen (since I have taken Celestia´s philosophy of There is no wrong way to fantasize, why bother?). But still

>all I know this is a lie and they could make it de facto confirmed like with Bon Bon and Lyra.
considering that it´s pretty easy to lie with such few characters or trick the fans with a few lines, yeah I don´t see that statement all that solid. Maybe they are keeping a surprise....

>>3961
>my second crackpot theory is that they killed Treelight and everyone is butthurt.
fortunately, your theory is wrong *sips the tea*.
However, I do believe people are triggered because of worse reasons than that. You will see it as soon as you check the archives.


Anon 04/15/2019 (Mon) 13:51:51 [Preview] No.3969 del
Now, here it comes, my personal review of Uprooted.

Before I even begin, I would like to quote some lyrics from a song that was composed 40 years ago that are surprisingly fitting for what I feel towards this situation:

>I said, watch what you say or they'll be calling you a radical
>Liberal, fanatical, criminal
>Won't you sign up your name, we'd like to feel you're acceptable
>Respectable, presentable, a vegetable.

The Logical Song_ Supertramp (1979)

So, Uprooted seems too have caused an universal negative reception on the chan side of the fandom at least. >>3952 Only a third of those voters had mixed to positive reaction towards it. So, as we have announced before, we are dealing with the worst episode that should be compared with Princess Spike, Non Compete Clause, Spike at Your Service....well, in the infamous catalog.

And....I don´t see how it reached it. If I was surprised by the pacing complaint from the opener, I feel even more confused with this case because I have watched it three times. One on Saturday evening, skipping the song by the way, on Sunday evening and today in the morning, different times with a different mood so my mind wouldn´t be as biased and review it because of momentum. No, this time I have tried to pick the wrong things with it, pausing it at times just to analyze and check its flaws.


Let me tell you that I can´t. No seriously, I cannot do it and the more I watched it, the more I realized that it was quite simply a little cute slice of life episode with a song put in the resolution. There is no AJ or RD having a mental breakdown nor a Spike having accidents in which the writers make fun of him. No, it doesn´t work this way.

What happens here is that the student 6 have different visions of what one should honor the tree. They applied their own ideas, they failed and Yona was the voice of reason. However, they didn´t act overly stupid because they were having some criticism among themselves, just that Yona had a better hindsight and shone with a little aspect that we overlooked: Yaks aren´t always destructive.

So does that mean the conflict was insufferable? At first, I considered it like that in certainly,it is designed to develop the story with that plot device. However, there are cute moments delivered almost if not all the time: Sandbar acting like a retard by putting earmuffs to his plant, Gallus inventing a story in order to sell "commercially" the legacy of the tree, how Ocellus failed to convince Thorax with her disguises, Yona helping (I suppose it´s her mother, I can tell) so she can get the permission, Silver Stream using art in order to express everything she wants to say (to her family and for the tree) and Smolder....well, that >>3968 girly moment.

So if I have managed to enjoy these little cute moments thrown all over the episode, it´s that my mind doesn´t feel blocked nor bothered of the plot while watching it.


Anon 04/15/2019 (Mon) 14:27:20 [Preview] No.3970 del
>>3969
so, I ask myself: where is the atrocity that everyone is calling over here?

For me, the comparison shouldn´t be directed towards those episodes. I haven´t seen a message nor a moment in which a kid learns a bad lesson or makes it have a bad time. There are no signs of it and the actual spirit of the episode becomes really apparent in the song I skipped at first: The Place Where We Belong.

That song....is uplifting and I kind of regret skipping that optimistic take for rebuilding the tree and turning into a treehouse. It´s like the students decided to make it a new home....

I´ve already revealed everything. Now, the logical complaints about it is that Hasbro seems to be making a new toyline with the tree and that the students look like the chosen snoflakes the snowflakes for it. Well, as far as I can tell, the students have barely received any merch and I am waiting for any Ember/Thorax toy yet. But again, we have yet to see it happen because that MLP at its core has been a toy commercial from the very beginning, Hasbro isn´t delivering all that much save the princesses, the movie and the mane 6. Let´s see if they break that trend with the new building that gave a new life to the Castle of the Two Royal Sisters.

My biggest complaint with this episode is that the everycreature expression makes me cringe a little bit (not as much as back in season 8 but I still kind of react by laughing at myself with it) and that the sequences of trying to convince their kingdom look like genuine filler (and I said genuine because the cute moments happened in those clips).

I believe that this is one of the most misunderstood episodes because people have given it a single try by getting convinced of their own expectations and not bother to check out what´s wrong with it exactly. Maybe it´s me who is crazy after all but I can´t reach that level of negativity, my mind doesn´t tell me that. I cannot complain nor see how this is an animated atrocity nor the biggest tragedy that has come out from this franchise. I wish I got paid Hasbro but unfortunately, all I can get is streaming these episodes without anybody telling me to do it.


So I can only speak for myself and that´s why I quoted Supertramp because I feel that something is missing in my mentality that others get but I don´t. The episode doesn´t drive me to believe that and makes me wonder if my enjoyment has come from that same material.


7/10
The episode shares all what you have seen before and after all, it looks like a nice little cute episode that translated the same message that the mane 6 had but this time, it was directed for a new generation. Nothing groundbreaking nor it didn´t seem to attempt to go to that deep direction.

All these descriptions could have been summarized with this title: "Castle Sweet Castle, Student Six Version".

If there is anything to compare with this episode,in my opinion, it´s the new castle for Twilight by bringing the old memories that happened in her burnt treehouse. The song,the way the plot is written,the treehouse that the students built in the end.....with a different take and circumstances, everything is updated and designed to carry the same spirit like that episode had.


Anon 04/15/2019 (Mon) 14:55:55 [Preview] No.3971 del
>>3970
>the students look like the chosen snoflakes the snowflakes for it.
well,for sure understanding this sentence must be a hard task and I didn't word my feelings that well.

Basically,I tried to say over there that all the school setting only served to introduce the students and that everything was made exclusively to them. The school was already forced by Hasbro but I have heard out there (from some fans) that these characters replace the mane 6 and shouldn't be in the spotlight with episodes like these,with all this attention. That's what I meant with the term snowflake.

Those are complaints that come from fans but I don't share them because the intro already tells you which characters stand out besides the mane 6.

I wanted to wait for your review first and judge the reactions later but I have explained a little bit what I have seen over there.


Anon 04/16/2019 (Tue) 04:50:23 [Preview] No.3973 del
(111.88 KB 512x288 treelight.png)
I see you have posted your thoughts. I'm going to post mine initial impression before I read yours.

This one feels wonky to me. I'm not sure I'd call it the worst, but far from top tier. I don't know how to put it other than calling it barren. How is it barren? IDK, but when I tried to come up with things I really like I came up empty other than that one moment when I saw Silverstream doing her abstract art. Even for the rest of that whole sequence I didn't find much humor in. Do I hate this episode? Not sure... I'd say it's more lackluster than bad, but if there is controversy I'd imagine it has to to with the neo-tree(house) and it making the destruction of the elements episode ago feel a little cheep and without impact. Like you'd imagine for them to have at least waited. there also wasn't enough Treelight to counter or really anything answered. Just pure set up. I think too the pacing felt off. There was set up to get to the episode that took main plot way too long and it didn't feel like I had gotten to spend enough time with the main conflict.

Some other observations in no order.
1: Twilight seemed to have a pretty chill reaction to the tree of harmony suddenly being back. I'm not saying that as criticism more as curiosity. for now
2: They appear to be setting this place up as a hangout to the student 6. Interesting. I could like it as a setting especially if it has a mysterious vibe and more Treelight stuff. My concern with this season being too crowned not withstanding.
3: More time skips. I wonder how all these time skips these past 2 seasons affect the timeline?
4: Very heavy set up for them being the next elements of harmony.


Anon 04/16/2019 (Tue) 06:05:10 [Preview] No.3974 del
(126.30 KB 512x288 student6.png)
>>3969
>>3970
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. I see we are on oppisite ends a bit. My reaction being somewhat mixed negitive. But...

>My biggest complaint with this episode is that the everycreature expression makes me cringe a little bit (not as much as back in season 8 but I still kind of react by laughing at myself with it) and that the sequences of trying to convince their kingdom look like genuine filler (and I said genuine because the cute moments happened in those clips).
>So does that mean the conflict was insufferable? At first, I considered it like that in certainly,it is designed to develop the story with that plot device. However, there are cute moments delivered almost if not all the time
>So if I have managed to enjoy these little cute moments thrown all over the episode, it´s that my mind doesn´t feel blocked nor bothered of the plot while watching it.
>>3973
>Just pure set up. I think too the pacing felt off.There was set up to get to the episode that took main plot way too long and it didn't feel like I had gotten to spend enough time with the main conflict.
>How is it barren? IDK, but when I tried to come up with things I really like I came up empty other than that one moment when I saw Silverstream doing her abstract art. Even for the rest of that whole sequence I didn't find much humor in.
> but if there is controversy I'd imagine it has to to with the neo-tree(house) and it making the destruction of the elements episode ago feel a little cheep and without impact.
It is a simple difference in whether we enjoyed the student6's attics. We still have a lot of the same notes o possible criticisms only for you the attics and humor outweighed it while for me it didn't. Plus a consideration on the previous episodes from my part and how it affected it. Even that last part was more of an observation on controversy over a view that I fully hold (though am slightly sympathetic to).

> So I can only speak for myself and that´s why I quoted Supertramp because I feel that something is missing in my mentality that others get but I don´t. The episode doesn´t drive me to believe that and makes me wonder if my enjoyment has come from that same material.
Can't say anything about the others because I haven't read any reaction period yet other than your's just now. For me though, it isn't some wide gulf or disconnect between either of are points of view despite my more negative feelings for it.

>Well, as far as I can tell, the students have barely received any merch and I am waiting for any Ember/Thorax toy yet. But again, we have yet to see it happen because that MLP at its core has been a toy commercial from the very beginning, Hasbro isn´t delivering all that much save the princesses, the movie and the mane 6. Let´s see if they break that trend with the new building that gave a new life to the Castle of the Two Royal Sisters.
Is Hasbro even focused on he school? Seems everything is for the rainbow special tbh. The lack of merch reminds me a bit of Bionicle during the last year. Despite all these new characters being added and a massive apocalyptic clash we only got six new sets do to Lego wanting to move on to the next thing and prep for it. Not exactly the same but just a observation of perhaps Hasbro having scraped plans to prepare for the new toyline. And besides, as I noted, I actually like the setting, or at least the idea of it.

>The episode shares all what you have seen before and after all, it looks like a nice little cute episode that translated the same message that the mane 6 had but this time, it was directed for a new generation. Nothing groundbreaking nor it didn´t seem to attempt to go to that deep direction.
>I believe that this is one of the most misunderstood episodes because people have given it a single try by getting convinced of their own expectations and not bother to check out what´s wrong with it exactly.
I direct you to this here:
>>3973
> there also wasn't enough Treelight to counter or really anything answered.
Note: this wasn't a personal criticism here but agai


Anon 04/16/2019 (Tue) 06:07:22 [Preview] No.3975 del
>>3974
Note: this wasn't a personal criticism here but again me speculating on sources of controversy. As in there wasn't enough fan service or other elements that would cushioned it for those who didn't enjoy the student6 focus. And when something is kind of negative, ya'know /mlp/ will take a nosedive in reaction.

>All these descriptions could have been summarized with this title: "Castle Sweet Castle, Student Six Version".
That is a very good comparison.


>7/10
>The episode shares all what you have seen before and after all, it looks like a nice little cute episode that translated the same message that the mane 6 had but this time, it was directed for a new generation. Nothing groundbreaking nor it didn´t seem to attempt to go to that deep direction.
Your opinion is not insane in the slightest to me. In fact when you word it that way, it makes me a little surprised that I don't like it. I love moseying around slice of life/ lower stakes action. Sleepless in Ponyviille is one of my all time favorites after all. But I don't. The student 6's attics mostly didn't click with me and their is flaws in the structure with the padding and the plot feeling a little mechanical on its set up. I'm not sure what score I'd give but it is probably a much lower one.

Far from any hard feelings or butthurt though.


Anon 04/16/2019 (Tue) 06:30:31 [Preview] No.3976 del
(156.81 KB 512x288 TwiAndSpike.png)
>>3967
>What´s coming next could be the peak of not judging things in a heated way and before jumping into conclusions, feel completely sure about how you see it. Uprooted to me, is a whole new level of a reaction that I don´t share with them for some reason. I´ll explain it later.
It is interesting for me to have a more mixed negative reaction to it yet not being quite off in some observations from each other.

>the worst part of it is that you could sum up those moments with two simple sentences: "Sombra takes over the Crystal Empire and traps the owners" and "The Mane 6 solve the disaster with Rainbow Magic". That´s it. If they took such little time with those sequences and they didn´t dig deeper,it´s simply because there was nothing particularly interesting that could have gone different, just one route events.
Purely mechanical.

>unless they wanted to play 4D chess with her all over again
This is a possibility. If they do have some explanation later that isn't an excuse I'd be just fine. It's not like it ruins the special for me. I now am wondering if the special maybe a top 10 favorite with how discord was handled.

>>3969
>logical song.
Just a little note. A family member has this as one of his favorites. I can see why you invoked it for the difference in reaction with the rest of the fandom.

>>3971
Nah, I've done way worse than that.

>Those are complaints that come from fans but I don't share them because the intro already tells you which characters stand out besides the mane 6.
A lot. I'm not going to judge the student 6 till there storyline wraps up though. Those who hate them strongly already are jumping the gun a little too fast. Problem is that that most people want to hate them and something that is somewhat lackluster or questionable will turn to pure negativity quickly will that crowd.


Anon 04/16/2019 (Tue) 22:46:09 [Preview] No.3977 del
>>3973
>This one feels wonky to me. I'm not sure I'd call it the worst, but far from top tier. I don't know how to put it other than calling it barren. How is it barren? IDK
I wouldn´t blame you, that´s how most have felt with the episode, that it was pretty average or didn´t offer much.

>but when I tried to come up with things I really like I came up empty other than that one moment when I saw Silverstream doing her abstract art.
yeah, that´s basically her character trait that they have come up with. That fanatism about her for art didn´t start in this episode but in a pre season 9 short.

>Even for the rest of that whole sequence I didn't find much humor in.
there is humor in it just that it relies heavily on the characters themselves, not to mention that they are self critical most of the time.

>Do I hate this episode? Not sure... I'd say it's more lackluster than bad, but if there is controversy I'd imagine it has to to with the neo-tree(house) and it making the destruction of the elements episode ago feel a little cheep and without impact.
yeah, the old buy our toys that we expect from Hasbro and out of nowhere comes up again in the Castle of the Two Sisters.

>Like you'd imagine for them to have at least waited. there also wasn't enough Treelight to counter or really anything answered. Just pure set up.
that could possibly be its biggest flaw, that the answers that you wanted from the tree itself haven´t appeared yet so it feels more like another little test that the tree sent out to the students and they simply obeyed and did the task they considered acceptable in the end, not to mention that they have been the only ones that talked to treelight sparkle and she disappeared when the actual Twilight was about to appear.

>I think too the pacing felt off. There was set up to get to the episode that took main plot way too long and it didn't feel like I had gotten to spend enough time with the main conflict.
I do believe that they have offered their own vision with enough time and considering that they have had to expose like 5 different versions of it and set up the main conflict, it happened a little bit too quick but I certainly don´t see much depth beyond their ideas to honor it.

>1: Twilight seemed to have a pretty chill reaction to the tree of harmony suddenly being back. I'm not saying that as criticism more as curiosity. for now
yeah, she smiled. However, that makes you wonder if she was also happy with the decisions that the protagonists did with the map quests.

>2: They appear to be setting this place up as a hangout to the student 6. Interesting. I could like it as a setting especially if it has a mysterious vibe and more Treelight stuff. My concern with this season being too crowned not withstanding.
the Castle of the Two Sisters isn´t a new place for the students. In fact, they have mentioned that the Everfree Forest wasn´t the safest place to visit, not only because of Sombra but because of the danger they had to face in School Daze. They escaped and stayed for a while in the castle and ironically, we hadn´t seen that place since season 4 (season 5 if you count the alternate timeline in Cutie Remark)

>3: More time skips. I wonder how all these time skips these past 2 seasons affect the timeline?
that also happened in School Daze inside the episode. The timelines are somewhat messy in between the episodes and if I remember correctly, in just one season there was more than just one single year in the universe.

>4: Very heavy set up for them being the next elements of harmony
eeeyup and the tree will be their mentor.


Anon 04/16/2019 (Tue) 23:19:21 [Preview] No.3978 del
>>3974
>I see we are on oppisite ends a bit. My reaction being somewhat mixed negitive. But...
the word discussion isn´t just there for decoration, you know. It had to happen someday

>It is a simple difference in whether we enjoyed the student6's attics.
basically that, it´s pretty likely that while trying to focus on wrong they were, I tried to analyze if they went out of character or check if there was something extraordinary. Sandbar showed his chill personality but also told a pretty stupid story in A Heart´s Warming Club, Smolder acts according to her wild spirit (when she shouted "I am not finished yet" I thought that Ember was telling this line) and breaks the stereotype by taking a tea like a high nobility mare (seen in What Lies Beneath), Silver Stream, besides her passion in art, she guides herself with the emotions (see her lack of confidence in WLB), Gallus follows the same pattern of a jew trying to sell an historical part of Equestria into a commercial museum just to make business (as expected from the griffons in S5E08), Ocellus acts like Fluttershy, she lets herself go because of the feelings forum that the hive created and she values the things peacefully in the "changeling way" (putting the tree upside down in Heart´s Warming), and lastly, Yona, in which case, she acted in a different way than expected.

>only for you the attics and humor outweighed it while for me it didn't.
I am telling you that at first, I thought this episode was a 3.5-4 out of 10 because I thought it was also too cliché. It´s just that the more that I tried to find the mistakes from it, the more I put my focus on how those details happened. And I simply took one by one and by themselves, there was nothing apparently wrong with them in my mind. If you were to put me what exactly was wrong with it, I would probably fail at that task and before making the review, I decided to watch it in the morning and that´s where I got more enjoyment than the previous time. That looked unfair to me, I felt conflicted at putting it a bad rating and I didn´t find nothing really worrisome with it.

>that last part was more of an observation on controversy over a view that I fully hold
yeah, though most of the fans (chan side only) found it as one of the two biggest flaws of it.

>I haven't read any reaction period yet other than your's just now.
http://boards.4channel.org/mlp/thread/33736455/s9-e3#p33737081

the other big flaw that the users saw from it was this one: It´s not exactly a quote but the general feeling is that the main complaint is the forced diversity and that they rated it badly because of the lack of ponies.
In this complaint, besides generating useless drama, there is so much wrong that I could be writing like 3 or 4 long paragraphs on how this is beyond hypocritical.
I will try to be short at explaining this but fans in the past (especially in season 6) wanted to expand the world and get to discover new places and species. That was called fanservice to a point and people in the early era wanted to discover the personalities from background ponies that only had one or two lines in their entire existence.
Not to mention that a few of these opinions do show a fair amount of prejudices and focus the blame to the wrong target. Yes, some of the tears came from /pol/ and....you can imagine the result: mixing the IRL view with the universe.
This is even more hypocritical to me because despite knowing where those users come from and understand their reasons to be mad in this life, I don´t share that madness applied to this show.


Anon 04/16/2019 (Tue) 23:51:20 [Preview] No.3979 del
>>3978
And this leads to a very artificial drama that doesn´t translate all that well to those shortcomings from the actual life.
Here, if you are seeing the students succeed is because they have learnt the lessons that were taught back in season 8. They aren´t ponies (save Sandbar and even him is a stereotype of a typical cheesy pony) but in reality, they are a product of those lessons, just like Spike, Discord and later in season 6, Thorax showed in their attitudes.

If anything, ponies have already won. The reason the students joined and considered that this was an emergency for them is because they care about the same interest that ponies did: the Tree of Harmony. If they didn´t care, then yeah, culturally speaking they would be different and in the short clips, they show how their culture vary from each other.

But here it is the deal, the antics that come from them are strange and the closest thing that happened with such altogether interactions among so many species started with To Where and Back Again, then the movie and finally, in season 8.

They implied that it was an emergency and they came to offer their own vision to rebuild a legacy that was mostly lost. That came from their own will and they could have ignored the tree of harmony if they wanted. Why would they care if they didn´t have these lessons?.
Silver Stream wouldn´t have dreamt about becoming a Wonderbolt, Smolder wouldn´t like tea parties, Yona wouldn´t put her chill side instead of smashing almost all the time, Ocellus wouldn´t have focused on discovering pony´s history after getting redeemed in season 6 nor Gallus would have cared about having a little bit more empathy after feeling loved and valued from his friends....

So yeah, more variety is a mistake... yet they only focus on the visual part. Just another detail to add: When The Place Where We Belong starts, close your eyes and don´t focus on the fact they are different species, can you tell me how many differences there are between being sung by ponies and the students? Because all that I hear is the same Hollywood pop musical act that ponies have delivered over this entire gen and I almost believed for a moment that RD singer was in it.
Well, I have told way more than I expected.

>Despite all these new characters being added and a massive apocalyptic clash we only got six new sets do to Lego wanting to move on to the next thing and prep for it.
yeah probably because of oversaturation in the toy market. They simply don´t feel ready to change the merch and they always sell the same old same because of reliable sales and that implies that the mane 6 are the ones that bring most of the revenue. To an extent, using other characters feels like an anti commercial way to market the toys....

>I actually like the setting, or at least the idea of it.
well, the only thing that it has managed to transmit is the message of rebuilding a home for the new generation. How will it work? Time will tell.

>again me speculating on sources of controversy
and you didn´t point out the biggest one. The Buy Our Toys controversy was the easy one to pick but the other one would come from the reactions from the episode.

>when something is kind of negative, ya'know /mlp/ will take a nosedive in reaction.
I know, there are opinions and opinions but seeing such negative ratings like these and the diversity complaint, they sure reacted way too quick and drive to demand myself a little bit more before jumping into conclusions. I take the poll as a heated response as I announced it before. They judged it way too soon and my thoughts were colliding more whenever I tried to see what exactly went wrong.


Anon 04/17/2019 (Wed) 00:22:53 [Preview] No.3980 del
>>3975
>That is a very good comparison.
in fact, I rewatched it again today. I´ve got to say that, besides knowing that it was pretty good episode (I cherish the pacing way more this time in hindsight, the Lady Writers did a great job here), there was a weird sense of nostalgia. This episode was the 2nd one I watched along with the fandom and it aired 4 years ago.

So, the comparisons should be obvious. The voices of reason were Spike and Rarity who took the leadership of those ideas, all the mane 5 showed their own vision on how to decorate the castle and the episode tried to redeem the product placement that happened in the season 4 finale by putting the old tree with those little gems that show the old events that happened for those 4 seasons. The filler parts comes from Spike but those events happen just to distract Twilight from the surprise. Not only that happened but also the mane 5 redecorated a little bit other parts of the castle, most notably the table for the dining room from Rarity´s part.

Uprooted follows this formula but on reverse. The product placement is the new Tree of Harmony and it hasn´t justified its creation. Does that mean Twilight´s Kingdom should be rated badly because of it? It didn´t because it was too awesome but there was a crowdfunding project in which they wanted the old treebrary back...
Anyway, it follows the reverse process because in CSC, the castle was already built and they had to bring something special for it while this one, the message was to convey to build something new and adapt a new form from the new generations to come that carries an unique vision that happens just at that time.
CSC messes up with the castle decorations while the mane 5 are putting their visions in practice (except in the reprise for a short moment) while the students applied their ideas after getting permissions from their kingdoms without a song. TPWWB happens at the end, delivering an uplifting but conclusive way to say that they have a solution to end this problem. After the song, that product pays off with a defined version of what the students wanted but weren´t capable of, they simply gave enough energy for the tree in order to grow and get a complete form from that fragile treehouse.

The idea of a Treehouse came from Yona, who acted as the voice of reason and she explicitly said that she hadn´t liked having arguments between friends (Gallus asked for her opinion in the middle of the argument by the way).

Despite having a few notable differences, the same formula was applied and I am convinced that if there is anything close to this in order to draw comparisons, it should be Castle Sweet Castle.

>In fact when you word it that way, it makes me a little surprised that I don't like it.
I didn´t like it at first too. Just that I tried too hard to bitch about it but I did constant pauses in order to point out the wrong things and the episode doesn´t drive to have such negative mindset. It took me like 3 times and that might be the reason why I feel that warmth with the interactions from the students. It´s more like I have reached the inability to find the complaints other fans used.

>Sleepless in Ponyviille is one of my all time favorites after all.
Patrician taste. That´s the best episode of S3 along with Wonderbolts Academy for me.

>The student 6's attics mostly didn't click with me and their is flaws in the structure with the padding and the plot feeling a little mechanical on its set up. I'm not sure what score I'd give but it is probably a much lower one. Far from any hard feelings or butthurt though.
eh that´s fine because you didn´t go bat shit insane at exposing that negativity (and that´s what lead me to care way too much about this). What I can tell is that maybe this episode has had to deal with the product placement problem and find the proper set up in order to pay off for what they want to show next.


Anon 04/17/2019 (Wed) 00:38:51 [Preview] No.3981 del
>>3976
>It is interesting for me to have a more mixed negative reaction to it yet not being quite off in some observations from each other.
what a boring life would be if these things didn´t happen. I suppose if I started to act with fanatic thoughts, it wouldn´t drive you to think the same way. That means at least, that we have watched the same material...

>Purely mechanical.
basically

>If they do have some explanation later that isn't an excuse I'd be just fine.
yeah but they don´t seem to show it (yet? IDK) so we are left with that question unanswered.

>now am wondering if the special maybe a top 10 favorite with how discord was handled.
for a premiere this late in the irde, that´s quite an achievement on its part.

>A family member has this as one of his favorites.
considering that there are so many cheesy pop songs that say nothing, I understand why he puts it in a high regard...

>I can see why you invoked it for the difference in reaction with the rest of the fandom.
funnily enough, I only started to listen Breakfast in America last week in its entirety and I didn´t know what band composed it exactly. Considering that I´ve heard this song a million times on the radio (even today), I´ve never taken it seriously until I listened to the whole album and I focused on the lyrics. Ironic that a pop song like this would offer me those lines just in time to describe my feelings toward all this weird situation.

>I've done way worse than that.
beat me to grammar mistakes though.

>I'm not going to judge the student 6 till there storyline wraps up thoug
well, that´s a way to do it coldly. Like Trixie would say: "It´s a working title".

>Those who hate them strongly already are jumping the gun a little too fast. Problem is that that most people want to hate them and something that is somewhat lackluster or questionable will turn to pure negativity quickly will that crowd.
that´s what I meant and I have posted in the previous posts why that attitude, while everyone is free to say whatever (who am I to tell what to think?), just doesn´t feel right. I´ve had to point it out in the end and say explicitly the excess coming from that hate may have got a little bit too out of hand logically speaking. I mean, not dramatic in the sense of writing death threats nor anything like that, but more like judging those prejudices and expectations that come from their personal vision. Not all of them have that so I basically focus on those two ideas that unsettled me and I couldn´t stay quiet towards those reactions.


Anon 04/17/2019 (Wed) 00:50:13 [Preview] No.3982 del
https://youtube.com/watch?v=jNClSvqqRzQ [Embed]

https://youtube.com/watch?v=swjM3rNu5p4 [Embed]

Having watched both today, I am posting both songs and...I am putting my hand on the fire (again) but the Place Where We Belong could drive to a lot of nostalgia vibes in the future for a lot of fans. Not now but there is a conclusive subtlety that feels like everything is going to end pretty soon and it has ended up being a highlight for me.

Make This Castle A Home pays off with the reprise but the song itself shows those good vibes as well until the end. Visually speaking, these songs go in reverse, one messes up the situation (most of the time) while the other one fixes it. Different characters yet so close to each other in their concepts.


What else can I say tonight? Not much else for now. So I am ending my part today. Goodnight /endpone/.


Anon 04/18/2019 (Thu) 05:10:52 [Preview] No.3983 del
Proof of Life. Stuff been happening but not bad, causing delay though. Well, possibly strong storms could be bad, but not life threating Will be posting tommorow but it maybe after y'all have hit the hey depending on plans.


Anon 04/18/2019 (Thu) 21:07:57 [Preview] No.3984 del
(4.45 MB 1019x1019 2015596.gif)
>>3983
>Stuff been happening but not bad, causing delay though. Well, possibly strong storms could be bad, but not life threating
well,that's kind of tense though.

>Will be posting tommorow but it maybe after y'all have hit the hey depending on plans
go ahead whenever you see it while keeping the irl stuff as forst preference obviously. I have posted like a bible over there and in hindsight, it's more like a blog to read than material to reply entirely. If you manage to reply to the majority of it,you have my respects for doing it


Anon 04/19/2019 (Fri) 05:03:54 [Preview] No.3985 del
>>3977
>yeah, that´s basically her character trait that they have come up with. That fanatism about her for art didn´t start in this episode but in a pre season 9 short.
Well, I think I like it. need to go and watch the shorts don't I?

>that could possibly be its biggest flaw, that the answers that you wanted from the tree itself haven´t appeared yet so it feels more like another little test that the tree sent out to the students and they simply obeyed and did the task they considered acceptable in the end, not to mention that they have been the only ones that talked to treelight sparkle and she disappeared when the actual Twilight was about to appear.
It just felt too wonky in pacing and too mechanical in its plot for me to enjoy. For me Treelight appeareces felt barren. I wouldn't have minded them being limited but it just felt too much like the cutie map calling people for arbitrary reasons. You are right that is a flaw, though for me it may not be the greatest flaw but the second. The greatest flaw was the attics of the characters, too long in setup and too mechanical for me. I feel on further reflection why this failed in while other /comfy/ episodes succeeded was the lack of time it was spending just living in the setting. Castle Sweet Castle and Sleepless in Ponyville really felt localized and we got to spend a lot of time there just intimate with the characters. It didn't offer that experience in place of fanservice. Now, here would be a faction still hating on it because "studet 6" but I don't think it would've been as strong. As this seemed to have a much higher negative reaction than other stuff involving them in the later season 8 when we were starting ta get used to them.

>I wouldn´t blame you, that´s how most have felt with the episode, that it was pretty average or didn´t offer much.
Nor would I you.


Anon 04/19/2019 (Fri) 05:49:32 [Preview] No.3986 del
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>>3978
>>3980
>the word discussion isn´t just there for decoration, you know. It had to happen someday
Disagreement is what makes things interesting. Especially when both sides aren't butthurt and don't assume that disagreement = hatred of who you are.

> I would probably fail at that task and before making the review, I decided to watch it in the morning and that´s where I got more enjoyment than the previous time. That looked unfair to me, I felt conflicted at putting it a bad rating and I didn´t find nothing really worrisome with it.
It's good to take a step back and think. As I said I didn't consider "bad" itself to be the best word to describe it. The question becomes whether painfully average = Mediocre. My problem with it is more structural on top of that though.

>the other big flaw that the users saw from it was this one: It´s not exactly a quote but the general feeling is that the main complaint is the forced diversity and that they rated it badly because of the lack of ponies.
>And this leads to a very artificial drama that doesn´t translate all that well to those shortcomings from the actual life.
The forced diversity I don't really feel beyond the use of everycreature. I remember from season 1 to 5 the show being accused of being right wing in some form. (Which also doesn't make sense considering the political leaning of all know show staff, but this is a topic that I could go into myself for paragraphs. and maybe for /go/ ) It's a real artificial drama that drains from fun. I mean I've seen /pol/posters freak out over there favorite waifu being dressed in Israeli grab just to mess with them and not just shitposting way . It's the reason why I could never go to mlpol. It's a forced lens that would coat everything and demands purity. And besides...

>
If anything, ponies have already won. The reason the students joined and considered that this was an emergency for them is because they care about the same interest that ponies did: the Tree of Harmony. If they didn´t care, then yeah, culturally speaking they would be different and in the short clips, they show how their culture vary from each other.
Do you realize what you have said here? This here is white neutrality. White neutrality is the notation that white attributes, customs, and morals = normal. The ponies are training the other races to get along and teaching them friendship, which is a pony moral, and do to the ponies being mostly taken from inspirations from various white cultures from American mainstream to Greece mythology, it means the ponies are coded white. This means that MLP is one of the most racist shows being made for kids right now.

...Is what any true student of social justice would say. Yeah, MLP is far from true stupidity in that. Maybe gen5 will be different but there is little agenda here.

>Despite having a few notable differences, the same formula was applied and I am convinced that if there is anything close to this in order to draw comparisons, it should be Castle Sweet Castle.
I may want to try something to rewatch Castle Sweet Castle and other /comfy/ episodes and see what I'm saying is correct or examine if I have some more objective metrics for such episodes can be made and prove my own dislike wrong. Agree with ya on Castle Sweet Castle 100% btw.

> Patrician taste. That´s the best episode of S3 along with Wonderbolts Academy for me.
Interestly enough it took me probably about a year to realize it was one of my favorites (when I had rewatched it like 6 times and often revisted in clips). It often times takes me while before something fully clicks or misses with me. For all I know at the end of the year I could love this episode 100%, but as of right now it... er, too bland.


Anon 04/19/2019 (Fri) 06:10:35 [Preview] No.3987 del
>>3981
>yeah but they don´t seem to show it (yet? IDK) so we are left with that question unanswered.
If they never, it's certainly a mark of idiocy against the princesses in a way I consider worse than previous times of lack of action. They were acknowledging that and tried too turn it into a fanservice moment with "hey they are finally doing something!" but the fact that they mentioned it like that made it worse because it made the outlook canon plus the craziness with the sudden retirement.

>for a premiere this late in the irde, that´s quite an achievement on its part.
I still have my misgiveings with the princesses and to a much lesser extent with the mane6, but the strength of the other elements over did it for the positive.

> Not all of them have that so I basically focus on those two ideas that unsettled me and I couldn´t stay quiet towards those reactions.
Oddly the way you say that reminds me of my reaction to certain political ideas IRL, but it be a rabbit hole to go down other than to say that I fully get feeling off with things like that, and feeling a little alone with it.

>>3982
>but the Place Where We Belong could drive to a lot of nostalgia vibes in the future for a lot of fans.
You bet that it will. Even ones who hated the episode. They may not believe it now but for those who were originally deadset against Twicorn now feeling nostalgia for season 4. As I have said, I remember when there was a fairly sized group of season 1 nostalgiafags during season freaking 2.

>Make This Castle A Home pays off with the reprise but the song itself shows those good vibes as well until the end. Visually speaking, these songs go in reverse, one messes up the situation (most of the time) while the other one fixes it. Different characters yet so close to each other in their concepts.
Now that feels like a certain harmony. Listening to both side by side gives me an interesting feel.


Anon 04/19/2019 (Fri) 07:15:31 [Preview] No.3991 del
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>>3984
>I have posted like a bible over there and in hindsight, it's more like a blog to read than material to reply entirely.
Nah, depending on what goes on with /go/ I could be posting walls of texts myself pretty soon. Though I think the BO may like some shorter replies and shitposting.

>If you manage to reply to the majority of it,you have my respects for doing it
Piece of cake when I get freetime.

>well,that's kind of tense though.
Yeah, it certainly can be with the threat of hail damage, especially when one still has stuff to repair from storm damage over a year ago. Though this one was honestly more confy than scary, it weakened just enough to be loud without doing anything bad, nice ambiance to go to sleep to.


Anon 04/19/2019 (Fri) 21:35:45 [Preview] No.3993 del
>>3985
>need to go and watch the shorts don't I?
nah, I don´t think so. I have checked the exact frame in which she feels satisfied about it. Just the 0:29 moment should reveal where it came from:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=WJHld7LxwTs [Embed]

>it just felt too wonky in pacing and too mechanical in its plot for me to enjoy. For me Treelight appeareces felt barren.
as for the pacing, I get it because it deals with the plot device, the interactions, adding more aspects of the students (and little details about their hometowns as well) and set it up for a new possible product. In Castle Sweet Castle is in reverse, it needs more interactions or things happening because the castle was created before the episode and the mane 6 were already complete characters that didn´t need another layer in order to make them interesting.
As for the barren appearance of Treelight, I understand where you come from and why you find it as a flaw but I think it was like the short plot device that would give time for the rest. I mean, they could have honored the tree and they would notice it sooner or later but you would need like a couple of minutes more and ask themselves in the school what happened to the tree. Although by using this plot device, the clips for the permissions wouldn´t have appeared.
>it just felt too much like the cutie map calling people for arbitrary reasons.
it´s curious but I think that this time I consider it less arbitrary because the tree has a preference towards them. Call it destiny or whatever but it´s much less random that the tree chooses the students because of what happened in What Lies Beneath in comparison to X characters go to Y place for reasons.

>The greatest flaw was the attics of the characters, too long in setup and too mechanical for me.
that´s a matter of taste or warmth on what they do. The only that I will say is that they felt like adding little aspects that would make them more unique. The mane 6 were already unique in CSC but the students, in this episode, were developing themselves without doing things related to the school whatsoever and went through this by their own will, putting them in a situation whose interactions drive 100% the story.

>I feel on further reflection why this failed in while other /comfy/ episodes succeeded was the lack of time it was spending just living in the setting
yeah, especially if you compare this to CSC. One goes in really slow pace while this one needs to do all these things pretty fast. It´s like trying to get development out a Mane 6 episode but at the same time, exposing their own trait as if they were developed. Without those traits, the conflict might have changed and get into different results.

>As this seemed to have a much higher negative reaction than other stuff involving them in the later season 8 when we were starting ta get used to them.
but the ironic thing is that they have rated this worse than NCC and the fandom said that the students in that episode weren´t guilty. I wonder if the fandom has turned around since that episode or if they were more forgiving during last year.

>Especially when both sides aren't butthurt and don't assume that disagreement = hatred of who you are.
well, that´s the polarizing route is the easiest one to take and when you have to post fast without many words behind (less characters than Twitter sometimes), it can feel like that. Once you get tired of that mentality or get to have a reasonable argument, the discussion becomes more productive. And yes, I would get bored if one agreed 100% about everything.


Anon 04/19/2019 (Fri) 22:18:53 [Preview] No.3994 del
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>>3986
>It's good to take a step back and think
yeah, especially when I noticed a few hints that the poll made me believe that I had to see this with the cold blood. If I hadn´t noticed that poll, I would have probably taken this episode less seriously.

>The question becomes whether painfully average = Mediocre. My problem with it is more structural on top of that
basically that it has its series of problem for you to not care about them while watching it. That falls more into a personal level.

>the show being accused of being right wing in some form.
you can be all politically correct that you want and hop onto the trend and feel like you ttake part of it but if anything shows a little message that deviated from the SJW and you become the enemy (you know fascist, nazi and whatever aka "stuff that I don´t like" the meme).MLP stopped being a show for them as soon as those two "infamous episodes" happened and cause property damage to the site that banned NSFW.

>It's a real artificial drama that drains from fun.
that doesn´t simply apply to this, I am surprised that it hasn´t caused more impact to the show. If you check the latest memes since 2015/16 (?), most of them are political and have a pretty short life span for that reason, they aren´t all that fun save a few exceptions.

>I've seen /pol/posters freak out over there favorite waifu being dressed in Israeli grab just to mess with them and not just shitposting way .
I would describe them as those elitists who used the expression Filthy Casual. Instead of videogames, it applies to their beloved target: Le Happy Merchant people.

>It's the reason why I could never go to mlpol.
I haven´t lurked there much save for a few days and check their first page a little bit and that fanatism just blinds them. Even at my worst on Nov 16, I didn´t reach the level of hating all of them, just the elites because they decide lives because of their decisions. That forced lens is a requirement in order to fit over there, it´s an unwritten rule that one should know and apply it all the time.

>Is what any true student of social justice would say.
the saddest thing is that you are not all that far off and I believe that they would go further than what you have posted. Fortunately enough, they haven´t dealt with that topic. They would be capable of saying that the changeling culture was better in the past (besides opinions on their designs), despite getting hungry all the time. Who knows but I would expect literally anything

>MLP is far from true stupidity in that. Maybe gen5 will be different but there is little agenda here.
tha´s what will make a little bit more timeless than other shows because it focuses more on universal values that will get repeated on cycles. It´s reminiscent of an empire but the empire evolves along with their members while they develop and enrich their traditions by their own decisions.

>I may want to try something to rewatch Castle Sweet Castle and other /comfy/ episodes and see what I'm saying is correct or examine if I have some more objective metrics for such episodes can be made and prove my own dislike wrong.
yeah, that practice could help a lot at pointing out what directions have been made in the writing. They would create a contrast even though I don´t know which episodes are all that similar to Uprooted besides CSC save for the comfy vibes

>it took me probably about a year to realize it was one of my favorites
the ride isn´t just an experience for the fandom but to a personal level as well. I don´t have a clear example of growth over big periods of time.It could possibly apply to The Cutie Remark if I revisited it nowadays but one episode that has grown off me was Boast Busters. There are much better Trixie episodes than that and the epic action that happened at the time falls short in comparison to what we´ve got.

>I know at the end of the year I could love this episode 100%, but as of right now it... er, too bland.
only time and your personal level will tell. I only can offer arguments in its defense towards this poll: >>3952


Anon 04/19/2019 (Fri) 23:14:59 [Preview] No.3995 del
>>3987
>it's a mark of idiocy against the princesses in a way I consider worse than previous times of lack of action
the way they reacted for solving the problem doesn´t seem that they wanted that. They didn´t expect that the same day Sombra would appear and there was no reason to call them in the 1st conquest because the mane 6 didn´t have any trouble with him by then.

>tried too turn it into a fanservice moment with hey they are finally doing something! but the fact that they mentioned it like that made it worse.
they mentioned it because they wanted to transmit the moral of calling for their help but it´s kind of questionable to know where those actions actually land. I cannot argue all that much this part because I haven´t focused on that aspect all that much while watching it.
>I have my misgiveings
>but the strength of the other elements over did it for the positive.
it´s not all that perfect and while I cannot justify their plot device all that much, the enjoyment in general is positive in terms of interactions.The perfection would go to the Return of Harmony.

>the way you say that reminds me of my reaction to certain political ideas
>feeling off with things like that,feeling a little alone with it.
honestly, discussing about politics with that level of depth has kind of influenced me at discussing other things.I tend to avoidthose rabbit holes, not because of the topic itself but the energy that it costs to keep it and how challenging is to keep the manners during the debate (especially if the opponent is ignorant at giving arguments)
You feel alone because there is nobody else right there to give you support so you have to rely entirely on yourself in order to gain something that you might not get in the end. If you don´t argue, they will stay like that and get convinced of their echochamber; if you do, you rely on luck and your skills for having a chance to win and/or give a valuable lesson or two.

I will confess that discussing about MLP is sometimes much harder than politics. Politics is formulaic and you can get pretty well informed,studying the topic before entering into it, having a good quantity of confidence while explaining it. With MLP however, there are no any other sources than the episodes themselves, you are literally naked on that and it changes with each episode. There may be cheap shitposters but there are always 2/3 users that discuss on a pretty high level. If you get to change the view of /mlp/ about X episode, you are draining yourself for a show that could be irrelevant to your life.If you manage to do that,anything else will be a disappointment.

>They may not believe it now but for those who were originally deadset against Twicorn now feeling nostalgia for season 4.I remember when there was a fairly sized group of season 1 nostalgiafags during season freaking 2.
and those happened with a good amount of drama. If one checks the past, this will follow the same cycle. I said that statement because it has the ingredients to follow it in the future.

>that feels like a certain harmony. Listening to both side by side gives me an interesting feel.
it´s curious,I didn´t hold Make This Castle A Home with high regard other than being serviceable to its episode until this discussion happened. Comparisons are obnoxious but I think that for this case, this one brings another value them, feeling more complete, following a route that one draws after checking all the material.

>depending on what goes on with /go/ I could be posting walls of texts myself pretty soon.
as if the /end/ couldn´t more walls of texts, it keeps going.

>Though I think the BO may like some shorter replies and shitposting.
it will happen when one feels tired to even bother for the big replies.

>Piece of cake when I get freetime.
"Easy as pie"
>Though this one was honestly more confy than scary, it weakened just enough to be loud without doing anything bad, nice ambiance to go to sleep to.
Everything went alright then.


Anon 04/24/2019 (Wed) 06:24:09 [Preview] No.4012 del
Episode 200 review!
I loved this episode.

Okay. I don't know where to start. I couldn't believe all they managed to put in there. Feels like I'd have to watch it several times to get all the callbacks gags and jokes. The plot though was very good to Spike. I loved the plot twist with Luna and Spike as it actually caught me off guard . Heck, the whole Spike moral caught me off guard. It was very nice and elevated the episode above raw fan service. I think this episode maybe of a higher quality than episode 100, but I'm not 100% sure on that till I check out 100 again. Probably draw down to how I judge raw quality vs pure fun and gratuitous fan service. Only minor complaint I ca muster at this time is Spike ripping the balloon, but than again they have endangered themselves far worse and ponies in canon are pretty durable. Also wonder if some of the concepts presented will never get brought up, but hey that's hardly counts as criticism of the episode.

Lightning round:
I liked the Castle Sweet Castle callback.
Applecord I guess is no longer the name of a certain obscure ship.
Royal Guard really sucks. Don't they?
Use of Queen Chrysalis old thrown pleases me greatly, even as a minor element. (And I sort of did that in my Revolution Fic!)
I honestly wonder the specifics of Shining Armour's relationship with the royal guard now. They described him as the former Captain but he sure is often there still isn't he?
I don't know how Celestia mobilized the Royal Guard in the Sombera timeline from the season 5 title to oppose him that well with the royal guards still being incompetent this season and Sombera being show to be able to destroy the freaking elements.
Spike and Luna working together may add a fair bit of fuel for some final season shipping or freindshipping. Sometimes moments like this go nowhere though with the later seasons as oppose to the first 4 do to there being so much going on and other elements having been hammered in so much that single episodes and lines have less impact at times, but it could still be something the fandom runs with.

This is one of those episodes that maybe in a year I could either love even more or perhaps be slightly critical toward but still like. Though right now?
9.7.5/10!


Anon 04/24/2019 (Wed) 06:25:43 [Preview] No.4013 del
Oh and I loved filly Twilight's face here!


Anon 04/24/2019 (Wed) 22:09:26 [Preview] No.4018 del
>>4012
>I loved this episode.
well, that sums up everything. Roll credits folks! jk.

>I couldn't believe all they managed to put in there.
well, you sure will appreciate it much more whenever you read the tweets and how the actresses brought their ideas for the story and how the writers compiled them cohesively. Unlike the chaos from episode 100, this one was a fanservice from the VA team.

>I loved the plot twist with Luna and Spike as it actually caught me off guard
everyone was actually surprised.We may be pretty late in the ride and you would think that MLP would never challenge the intellect from adult fans and get to impress anybody because of its predictability. Well, it turns out that we were wrong, MLP CAN bring surprises and pull off a great 4D chess plot twist from two characters that kind of felt overshadowed by others: Luna feeling like she is there but not doing anything important and Spike doesn´t always get all the credit that the mane 6 receive.

That strategy was genuinely a bold move I must say. If somebody tells out there that MLP is predicable, that person definitely hasn´t checked this episode.

>the whole Spike moral caught me off guard
I kind of saw that when he drew the stars and had as much interest in that crown as Twilight did. Just that he hid pretty well that he created a 3rd faction by pretending to be a player inside Twilight´s team.

>I think this episode maybe of a higher quality than episode 100, but I'm not 100% sure on that till I check out 100 again.
I have only watched it once but it controlled much more the fanservice.

>Only minor complaint I ca muster at this time is Spike ripping the balloon, but than again they have endangered themselves far worse and ponies in canon are pretty durable.
it´s Pinkie Pie, don´t question it. She is the only pony that has appeared above the stratosphere and has had the idea to use the cannon in order to get into the palace in the movie.

>wonder if some of the concepts presented will never get brought up, but hey that's hardly counts as criticism of the episode.
who knows. This show is capable of doing anything they want at this point.

>I liked the Castle Sweet Castle callback.
huh, I didn´t notice this.
>Applecord I guess is no longer the name of a certain obscure ship.
the writers have twisted minds and use the shipping name for describing a new unknown past from AJ.
>Royal Guard really sucks. Don't they?
Is that new? Rainbow already said that they didn´t need the princesses for dealing with the villains. If the Royal Sisters are going to rely on real defense, the mane 6 do the job with much more success than the entire army of Canterlot.

they fired Zephyr Breeze for being incompetent but that´s relatively speaking, because they don´t do their services much better. The fanbase asked if Celestia was truly incompetent (in the first seasons) but I think that her guards are less reliable than the Team Rocket capturing a Pikachu for 2 decades.

>Use of Queen Chrysalis old thrown pleases me greatly, even as a minor element. (And I sort of did that in my Revolution Fic!)
well, it seems that you are applying to be a seer. And yeah, I was quite surprised that they have used it for their own advantage.


Anon 04/24/2019 (Wed) 22:41:56 [Preview] No.4019 del
>>4012
>I honestly wonder the specifics of Shining Armour's relationship with the royal guard now. They described him as the former Captain but he sure is often there still isn't he?
I mean, he was the former Captain of the royal guard before A Canterlot Wedding and The Crystal Empire happened (being his debut episodes by the way) and he´s been used to marshaling since his debut despite the changes of his armies.
I suppose that he has a better deal and get to be more interpenetrated with the Empire ones and this shows....

because despite having lots of guards in Canterlot, they sure are incompetent under any leadership. He had to rely on himself by hiding behind the throne. A cheap move for redeeming his strategy.
I suppose he was the former Captain because Flash Magnus applied to that job around season 8? I don´t know.

>I don't know how Celestia mobilized the Royal Guard in the Sombra timeline from the season 5 title to oppose him that well with the royal guards still being incompetent this season and Sombra being show to be able to destroy the freaking elements.
they must have trained harder than they do in this timeline. Also, you are not taking into account that the Pie family and Rainbow Dash joined the army and showed their skills for the battle. About Sombra destroying the elements...I don´t know but they didn´t think about this back in 2015 nor in bringing hum back to life for this timeline. FiM is wildly known for rewriting their own ideas and twist them for the next episodes and what you say sounds like a de facto plot hole that have created themselves over time.

>Spike and Luna working together may add a fair bit of fuel for some final season shipping or freindshipping.
they did a story between this two in the comics that didn´t go all that well. However this episode paid off that duo and while the fuel may be nonsensical, it´s funny to think that both Rarity and Luna are voiced by Tabitha.

>Sometimes moments like this go nowhere though with the later seasons as oppose to the first 4 do to there being so much going on and other elements having been hammered in so much that single episodes and lines have less impact at times, but it could still be something the fandom runs with.
that period happened once. It´s really hard for something to pay off and achieve a great popularity among the fanbase without relying on what the show does. Not even the movie has managed to get that much of an impact, not even an ancient character (who would scream hype for lore) like Starswirl or a villain like Daybreaker can manage to have an impact.
With that said, I do believe that they are going to have a little bit of fun and underestimate them less for the next episodes. These two needed to shine a bit, especially Luna.

>This is one of those episodes that maybe in a year I could either love even more or perhaps be slightly critical toward but still like.
yeah. Either way, this subtle fanservice can hold up much better than ep 100 over time so I suppose that it´s going to age nicely in comparison.

>9.7.5/10!
that´s a bold rating and considering the material going around for it, it guarantees a good amount of fun for anyone at anytime. This is an episode in which despite not having the deepest message or moral out there, it´s one that a fan will tend to pick for having a nice time all the way through.

>>4013
top 10 anime betrayals. Your bro tricked ya Twili.


Anon 04/26/2019 (Fri) 06:24:22 [Preview] No.4026 del
>>4018
>>4019
>That strategy was genuinely a bold move I must say. If somebody tells out there that MLP is predicable, that person definitely hasn´t checked this episode.
This episode makes me a little more hopeful for the season.
MLP is not out of ideas yet.

>it´s Pinkie Pie, don´t question it.
That's why it's only a minor complaint at most. Still, I could understand feeling a little off with it.

>they fired Zephyr Breeze for being incompetent but that´s relatively speaking, because they don´t do their services much better. The fanbase asked if Celestia was truly incompetent (in the first seasons) but I think that her guards are less reliable than the Team Rocket capturing a Pikachu for 2 decades.
This

>well, it seems that you are applying to be a seer. And yeah, I was quite surprised that they have used it for their own advantage.
It'd be cool if they have it actually part of the defenses in some way in the future but I doubt it. Still fun to see in concept even if it was only for an episode.

>I suppose he was the former Captain because Flash Magnus applied to that job around season 8? I don´t know.
I suppose one would have to try to look at the relenship between the Crystal Empire and Equestria as a whole. Though like you point out here, a fuzzy lack of info over a true answer, even for a good guess.

>FiM is wildly known for rewriting their own ideas and twist them for the next episodes and what you say sounds like a de facto plot hole that have created themselves over time.
Yeah. The lore only half applies on and off at times. With one off implications it's understandable though sometimes for consistent themes and bigger set ups I do count it as a criticism with the show. Still, it's not like it's a deal breaker and there has been bigger dumpster fires of contradictions in media where it matters more just take a look at Star Trek in its golden age in the 1990s

>they did a story between this two in the comics that didn´t go all that well.
Really? Actually did not know this.

>However this episode paid off that duo and while the fuel may be nonsensical, it´s funny to think that both Rarity and Luna are voiced by Tabitha.
See, it's a match made in heaven.

>These two needed to shine a bit, especially Luna.
Indeed Luna, in a weird way, she has been both overused as fanservice but under utilized as a character, if that makes any sense. Perhaps I'll go into deeper detail a little later.

> it´s one that a fan will tend to pick for having a nice time all the way through.
For me is that I cannot think of anything I'd done differently other than a single nitpick that doesn't really bug me. That's beyond top tier in my book.


Anon 04/27/2019 (Sat) 16:32:14 [Preview] No.4029 del
>>4026
>This episode makes me a little more hopeful for the season.
>MLP is not out of ideas yet.
keep in mind that MLP is one of those shows that can change and get away with it as long as it keeps its core spirit. As long as it isn´t boring and offers a few character interactions here and there, it can bring anything onto the table. And yes, being unpredictable and giving a huge twist like this right at the end of the episode was the most anticlimatic road that this show could have taken. So here we are 9 years later and it still keep bringing surprises. Fingers crossed that today´s episode brings some qualities in it.

>I could understand feeling a little off with it.
you wouldn´t be the only fan who would nitpick that.

>it'd be cool if they have it actually part of the defenses in some way in the future but I doubt it
that doesn´t sound as ridiculous as you may think. I will quote this line if that happens.

>like you point out here, a fuzzy lack of info over a true answer, even for a good guess.
well, that´s the closest thing that I can come up with, not that it bothers me too much.

>though sometimes for consistent themes and bigger set ups I do count it as a criticism with the show.
this is why FIM shows a few flaws when it puts the big stuff on the front. It works for slice of life episodes but when it wants to have everything joint, the base material doesn´t help all that much for making 100% sense. For the plot itself it´s serviceable but then it has to fix what´s left in it. The Cutie Remark was the biggest example of having a questionable direction with Dolores yet we didn´t get the full circle until season 8 with the Parent Map.

>it´s not like it's a deal breaker and there has been bigger dumpster fires of contradictions in media where it matters more just take a look at Star Trek in its golden age in the 1990s
and that´s a compliment. The fact that you have to compare it with a powerhouse like TNG, it makes you ask how MLP has come so far. Having constructive flaws doesn´t mean the series is less enjoyable, just that the concepts might collide and leave us wondering about certain spots.

>Actually did not know this.
I don´t know which issue it is. I believe that it was a Friend Forever comic but either I didn´t pay much attention or it was written before I cared about them/joined in the ride.

>it's a match made in heaven.
that little dragon gets the best ones out of the bunch.


>she has been both overused as fanservice but under utilized as a character, if that makes any sense.
I don´t think you have to explain this. We have been witnesses of that trend and the only shocking part is that after having a lack of any spotlight in the 8th season, she makes a return with this style. At least, despite getting very little out of her nowadays, she still delivers and fortunately, they don´t need the edgy route for making her special.

>For me,I cannot think of anything I'd done differently other than a single nitpick that doesn't really bug me. That's beyond top tier in my book.
I wonder which episode is the closest one that approaches to that requirement besides this episode and What Lies Beneath or the ones reviewed in the previous thread


Anon 04/29/2019 (Mon) 01:07:33 [Preview] No.4032 del
>>4026
>It'd be cool if they have it actually part of the defenses in some way in the future but I doubt it.
I wouldn't count on it. And there are actually in-universe reasons for why so.
First things first, it may have been multi-tier but it sure wasn't triple-backed-up as Shining Armour claimed it to be. Presumably no component of the system had a failover replacement.
But what's most important thing to consider here, is that Shining Armour applied too much security measures. Yes, that's right, he went overboard. And that's a bad thing.
"Security at the expense of usability, comes at the expense of security." The castle presumably isn't staffed only by royal guard, but also civil personel. A personel which needs to move around the castle. If every single door in the castle needs access clearance, with time, it's essentially asking for the equivalent of "sticky note on laptop with password written on it" situations. The guards and regular staff sure as hell won't bother with following the code to the letter when it's such big PITA.
Second issue here, "doubled the ranks of security" and "ponies protect every hallway and door". That's clearly lot of ponies. Lots of ponies you're giving access clearance too. Unless it's been in the making for a long time, increased drafting sure led to decreased training (seeing as easily they left their posts when distracted by AJ or Pinkie this is all but 100% the case I'd say) and lower entry bar. And also you're relying on trusting many many ponies. You can see where this is going.
Also they're protecting only doors. Too bad that throne room has only one door, and lots of windows.
The issue with the fans (and the guards too) is that this is probably a very costly precaution. Plus the fans are very disruptive to the surroundings (and noisy, I guess!), which depending on the location and size of protected area, and worthiness of protected thing/person can be an issue too if the increased security is that much more important then this can be overruled.
Another nitpick with the guard system is that besides the medals there is no formal verification of authority. If you have a medal and an armour, you're a guard for all intents and purposes. Though allegedly obtaining those two things to an outsider takes some effort, so this is a minor nitpick.
Next big issue lies with the geese - As we've seen in the episode, even though that was a falsely reported false positive, aka an actual legit alarm, but I digress unproportionally high ratio of false positives. Nobody will want to deal with system that is constantly going off without any threat in sight.
This is a scenario easily leading to "the boy who cried wolf" case though allegedly this is averted in professional settings. It's bound to be outright ignored or dismantled overtime. Not to mention that the geese system isn't probably fit for protecting living things, things that move.
The floor trap doesn't cover entire area around throne but also how are princesses supposed to get on the throne they can fly I guess... without setting off the trap. More of a defence against surprise frontal charge, but eh, something's better than nothing I guess. It's okay as a last resort.
And as some anon in /mlp/ sticky correctly pointed out, Shining Armour defence only worked because he had prior knowledge of the attack being held. All he had to do was wait a few hours behind the throne, regardless of any security measures applied, even if there weren't any. If the penetration test was done properly, Twilight would have gotten the crown as all security measures were breached by her. Shining just camped behind the throne which supposedly isn't normal operation.


Anon 04/29/2019 (Mon) 01:08:56 [Preview] No.4033 del
>>4032
And last but not least, the biggest gaping hole in Shining's plan, which this episode highlighted in awesome way, was an issue of implicit trust. The system is only as secure as its weakest link. No matter the system, it is always designed to allow access to some people/ponies/creatures because what's the point of building a system nobody can access?, so it doesn't matter how intricate countermeasures one applies, if an authorised person decides to hand you their keys alternatively you could steal them, that's what they done with the Royal Guard Medal then it's all but over.
Social engineering proved to be the most effective tactic yet again and claimed its crop. If someone whom the entire protection system is built around decides to play against your team, you already lost before the game even begun. Flawless victory.


Anon 04/29/2019 (Mon) 07:03:10 [Preview] No.4034 del
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>>4029
PoLS today. It'll be in two or three days before I get over here do to a certain event coming up. only in the vaguest sense /pone/ related because it connects to... long ago My episode review will still come and dependent certain details some /go/ posts.

>>4032
>>4033
Wow I love this BO I'll reply in full later but I'll say this:

>Shining's plan, which this episode highlighted in awesome way, was an issue of implicit trust. The system is only as secure as its weakest link.
I just love this take on the episode when looking at it certain elements under a lens like this. It is an interesting way to take away from the episode that is so true. Always somebody has to be trusted and the fewer who known the better, yet keeping everyone in the dark is itself a weakness do to people being unable to react to changes in the situation on the ground and pieces of the metaphorical chess board falling out of place. When one goes into thought about such weak links it can lead to paranoia and inefficiency on the other side of the coin as well. Oh the joys of threat modeling.


Anon 04/30/2019 (Tue) 00:50:37 [Preview] No.4035 del
(650.16 KB 1125x911 2025390.png)
POLS pretty late in the night and I want to say that...

>>4032
I am quite impressed that I have received those observations from the BO for a single line that relies on heavy speculation (and I didn't think you would take it that far because I posted it without thinking too much about on the topic). You almost made it look as a technical objective point for that case. It deserves a long reply for analyizing it but for the most part,I have to agree with your perspective.

To sum up,it was one of a kind situation that only worked for Twilight but not for a villain that challenges the defenses with unknown variables that could happen anywhere at anytime.

What amazes me a lot is that we are discussing all of this from a series of this girly stigma and the deep discussion sparks from the episodes themselves. Not the first time that I say but it's kind of ironic that one puts all the 4d chess strategies on the table....


Anon 05/02/2019 (Thu) 05:14:21 [Preview] No.4036 del
Point of no return review.

It was a solid episode. Not great, not awful but I can't muster any complaints other than perhaps being slightly wonky in pacing. I stress this, I mean only slightly, not even sure I'd say it worthy of note. The early part was my favorite do to the flashbacks and another appearance of unicorn Twilight! (of which I feel conflicted as whether to consider the best Twilight, but that's another story). The moral was surprisingly strong as well.

Perhaps I could see someponies seeing it as a little lackluster, but for me it was a solid 8/10. This is one of those episodes that I feel could grown on me later and will at least stay average if it doesn't.

Now for some other observations:
1: G1 Star Swirl? What kind of toyline from in universe... My Little Wizards?
2: Twilight sure lacks knowledge on the Canterlot library's inner workings despite being Princess Celestia's student and spending hours there. Some things I can see; like her not ever knowing of the return fees not stacking past a month. But her not knowing that Dusty Pages is gone despite having dropped by both Canterlot and the Library seems rather strange. Though this is consistent from all the way back from her not knowing of the Star Swirl the bearded section in It's About Time. You can't chalk it up to new writers messing it up, it's actually them keeping consistency in a weird sort of way. If maybe accidentally.
3: I liked the flashback, kind of nostalgic. Need to check if they simply reused animation or reanimated it any.
4: What where some of the student 6 doing in that random part of equestria?
5: Mooncurve's Seven Theories on Bending Time? 90% sure it's just a random book but you never no if it could be some cameo for the endgame. Just wanted to note it.


Anon 05/02/2019 (Thu) 05:23:10 [Preview] No.4037 del
>>4036
Another thing that's a side note: Twilight's seemingly irrational fear of punishment from the early seasons seems back. Though I suppose it never was fully gone, it does feel more prominent and a little less well reasoned. More along the lines of TS worried about being sent to magical kindergarten and banished for stupid reasons than some of her later screw ups on things she had responsibility as a Princess which are much more rational. This type of thing was used as evidence as of Equestria having some sort of darker side to varying degrees and with the way which "Grossly Overdue Book Return Office for Ponies Who Should Know Better" goes with that old specter of strange punishments that Twilight feared that were overly simple things. In a way it's perhaps puts an explanation for them. It seems to be a system of threats of social stigmata and vaguely thrown out punishments that aren't really as bad as they appear to be from what is told/passed around in rumor in a way of scaring ponies straight. Additionally, as this moral says with perfection, it could go with Canterlot having a very competitive environment that strives for perfection and TS' freak out prone nature being actually bred from this environment, even if she was sheltered from it. Now that's a darker take that actually could work in canon, though it's far from a nightmare.


Anon 05/02/2019 (Thu) 05:55:33 [Preview] No.4038 del
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Where is Silver Shoals and that island? I actually looked it up and Seaward Shoals was called Silver Shoals before by Jim. North of Vanhoover looks to be a candidate then I suppose if that is the case unless they make it a separate town. I mean the maps don't match fully match but seems close enough for a background prop. Though that little island is new.
https://twitter.com/TheBiggestJim/status/782780332873359360


Anon 05/02/2019 (Thu) 06:32:14 [Preview] No.4039 del
>>4032
>>4033
>But what's most important thing to consider here, is that Shining Armour applied too much security measures. Yes, that's right, he went overboard. And that's a bad thing.
>"Security at the expense of usability, comes at the expense of security."
>And last but not least, the biggest gaping hole in Shining's plan, which this episode highlighted in awesome way, was an issue of implicit trust.
Multi-tiered system that required too many ponies to be in the know is probably worst than even security through obscurity in this case. It arguably drew attention to the Canterlot tunnels entries and let everypony know they were important. I mean he could've gone with a system with that didn't require to lean on so many, though even than if he still had all those layers and few ponies in the know that would still be not an ideal do to complexity.

>Second issue here, "doubled the ranks of security" and "ponies protect every hallway and door". That's clearly lot of ponies. Lots of ponies you're giving access clearance too. Unless it's been in the making for a long time, increased drafting sure led to decreased training (seeing as easily they left their posts when distracted by AJ or Pinkie this is all but 100% the case I'd say)
This is the best explication as to why they sucked so bad here. I'll take over the normal royal guard ponies being that level of stupid anyway.

>The issue with the fans (and the guards too) is that this is probably a very costly precaution. Plus the fans are very disruptive to the surroundings (and noisy, I guess!), which depending on the location and size of protected area, and worthiness of protected thing/person can be an issue too if the increased security is that much more important then this can be overruled.
It's not subtle, but if only higher skilled fliers could navigate through it, it could be perhaps an asset in the event of swarms of flying enemies, as the changeling invasion demonstrated. As an anti espionage measure I'd be far more skeptical of its value. It would be an obstacle but there were plenty of other ways to circumvent it. As you say with...

>Another nitpick with the guard system is that besides the medals there is no formal verification of authority. If you have a medal and an armour, you're a guard for all intents and purposes. Though allegedly obtaining those two things to an outsider takes some effort, so this is a minor nitpick.
Social engineering. Perhaps it is hard to obtain but there is a lot of things in this show that are supposedly ascribed
skills and traits that they do not actively possess. Though I still agree that it's a minor nitpick.

>And as some anon in /mlp/ sticky correctly pointed out, Shining Armour defence only worked because he had prior knowledge of the attack being held. All he had to do was wait a few hours behind the throne, regardless of any security measures applied, even if there weren't any. If the penetration test was done properly, Twilight would have gotten the crown as all security measures were breached by her. Shining just camped behind the throne which supposedly isn't normal operation.
Which makes the system quite flawed in both the sense of it needing a core leader to function and a bunch of ponies in the know of too much. A Twilight designed system would be overly complicated but probably far more security, with her being the linchpin that bares the burden of keeping a not well oiled machine moving. In a way it shows the similarities and differences in there thinking.

>Next big issue lies with the geese - As we've seen in the episode, even though that was a falsely reported false positive, aka an actual legit alarm, but I digress unproportionally high ratio of false positives. Nobody will want to deal with system that is constantly going off without any threat in sight.
USA after 9/11.


Anon 05/02/2019 (Thu) 07:17:52 [Preview] No.4040 del
>>4039
> but probably far more security
meant to say "secret" not security


Anon 05/02/2019 (Thu) 07:34:10 [Preview] No.4041 del
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>>4032
One other thing to add to this. Where were these? I suppose th thrown did the same function but this would still be useful for certain conttolled areas would it not?


Anon 05/02/2019 (Thu) 23:17:07 [Preview] No.4042 del
>>4036
>It was a solid episode.
>perhaps being slightly wonky in pacing.I stress this, I mean only slightly, not even sure I'd say it worthy of note.
well, if your minor complaint is about the pacing, I honestly don´t see it (maybe the short Moondancer cameo?). For episodes with a slice of life touch, it´s really difficult to pile up the pacing and mess it up badly. Having seen Castle Sweet Castle a couple of weeks ago, the pacing in this episode flows more or less in the same was CSC does.

>The early part was my favorite do to the flashbacks and another appearance of unicorn Twilight! (of which I feel conflicted as whether to consider the best Twilight, but that's another story).
Twilight sure feels different with so much time and development behind her. It´s like watching an alien (sort of) because of how far she has gone in her trajectory, from a bookworm of Canterlot to the Princess of Friendship.

>The moral was surprisingly strong as well.
now, the biggest complaint that one fan could use would be about the entertainment value while setting up that moral because in order to make it work, it has to show signs of empathy and a close feeling for the spectator.It can perfectly be described as one of the best and universal morals that you will see here. This episode will not drive you to anything interesting and this is why they use comedy and flashbacks for getting a little bit of entertainment value and discussion. Despite the strong moral, it doesn´t sell that much. It sounds ironic but MLP doesn´t look forward to being a meme show all the time and it tries to end with a high note as a life changing show for the 2010s. This episode proves that it wants to give philosophical takes about life and ones that only time and experience will help you to understand. You cannot see this moral going for a commercial film (superheroes I guess) that Hollywood would do and MLP supposedly comes as a toy commercial...I´ll let that sink in for a moment.

Berrow (in her last episode) has delivered one of the most mundane yet powerful messages that requires a typical situation (returning a book late in a library) in a common place with characters who simply keep on their daily lives. Twilight, despite getting the main role here, doesn´t come as an extraordinary outlandish character because of her princess duties but because of her nerd side and forgetting about a little task she had to do long time ago. Her princess title means little to nothing and she works as another character that worries/fears (a little bit too much) about having to pay the late return

>I could see someponies seeing it as a little lackluster, but for me it was a solid 8/10. This is one of those episodes that I feel could grown on me later and will at least stay average if it doesn't.
see? This episode doesn´t have any intention to be a highlight nor surprising but philosophical and drive you to a simple lesson: stop and think about what you want to do. Also, this episode takes the opposite path that Fame and Misfortune did.Here, it carries a more laid back purpose that is open to interpretations (even for the writer herself) while F&M went too meta for its own good.

I have not seen the poll from /mlp/ but I can see why they would give this a 6 or an average rating. This episode could grow over time and age better than others, it doesn´t want to sell and make people scream in emotions. MLP here as a show, acts like your grandfather who tells you about his old experiences and you as a listener, learn something valuable from those words. If those intentions work, anything else comes as ornaments.


Anon 05/02/2019 (Thu) 23:58:12 [Preview] No.4043 del
>>4036
>G1 Star Swirl? What kind of toyline from in universe... My Little Wizards?
that detail went really meta. It´s confusing yet you laugh at it by simply asking how they managed to pull a meta nod to the universe itself.

>Some things I can see; like her not ever knowing of the return fees not stacking past a month.
because she was always responsible and her life was way simpler in which her only task consisted about the library and her studies.

>not knowing that Dusty Pages is gone despite having dropped by both Canterlot and the Library seems rather strange. Though this is consistent from all the way back from her not knowing of the Star Swirl the bearded section in It's About Time. You can't chalk it up to new writers messing it up, it's actually them keeping consistency in a weird sort of way. If maybe accidentally.
when you deal with past episodes, it doesn´t only raises questions about the present episode but about the past and the current idea may not reside on that theoretical past because of the writing direction. Berrow has shown nods of past episodes which is one of her biggest strengths and she took the flashbacks with tweezers and keep the subtle plotholes aside. She visited the library in Amending Fences yet she is aware of Moondancer, the curry restaurant from Spice Up Your Life and the Silver Shoals appeared in PPOV. Her episodes usually rely on showing continuity and reward those who have watched the previous episodes so maybe this doesn´t come as an incident after all.

>Need to check if they simply reused animation or reanimated it any.
Tara Strong sounds way different in that part. For sure they have kept the original audio and simply added the book animation when it was thrown under the bookshelf.

>What where some of the student 6 doing in that random part of equestria?
Fanfic writers, where are you?! You are free to make implications of this little appearance!

And nope, they haven´t appeared there because of a school trip, haven´t they?

>90% sure it's just a random book but you never no if it could be some cameo for the endgame. Just wanted to note it.
if we were to have some foresight into single detail, then we will get into a crazy state. However, this is MLP, a show that made Starswirl real because of the costume that Twilight wore in Luna Eclipsed and brought entire species onto the table because of "one hit wonder" episodes in the early seasons,among other things. A slice of life in which nothing can be considered as filler. Anything counts.


Anon 05/03/2019 (Fri) 00:27:17 [Preview] No.4044 del
>>4037
>Twilight's seemingly irrational fear of punishment from the early seasons
>it does feel more prominent and a little less well reasoned.
you are thinking about It´s About Time and specifically, Lesson Zero.She has grown up since those paranoid thoughts for bringing new lessons to Celestia every day for the sake of writing them and get a fake sense of accomplishment.

>More along the lines of TS worried about being sent to magical kindergarten and banished for stupid reasons than some of her later screw ups on things she had responsibility as a Princess which are much more rational.
you said it.Despite coming back to the old place she used to visit before season 1,all these experiences have made her different yet prove that nothing has changed.Her interest in books and nerdy stuff remains, the mentality from that era does not hold up because she has learned lots of practical lessons...which also applies to the fanbase.

>the way which "Grossly Overdue Book Return Office for Ponies Who Should Know Better" goes with that old specter of strange punishments that Twilight feared that were overly simple things.
>a system of threats of social stigmata and vaguely thrown out punishments that aren't really as bad as they appear to be from what is told/passed around in rumor in a way of scaring ponies straight.
say that to Japan when you copy in an exam and tell me what happens next.Of course the action itself should have a punishment as putting a zero to the exam but as big as being considered as a failure from your own family,ruining your reputation forever...that´s a stretch and college students stress a lot about their studies. There are a few suicides that happen yearly.

again,Twilight can have those dark thoughts and in some places,it doesn´t come as outlandish as one might think. The librarians here have a philosophical take and a calm view about this practice that ends up being common, not to mention that a book problem was really easy to solve by getting a new edition because of the high demand of that book. If you were to punish all the customers that hard, maybe all those users will think about it more than twice before entering in any library.

The episode wants to transmit that life can be meaningful and that perfection might not mean everything that should define you.It helps and getting more knowledge is one of the main reasons one lives in this planet.However, Dusty Pages said fuck all to that perfection and exaggerated tensions that came from her. She saw her life as too boring and as for what´s left for her, she wants to enjoy the time she couldn´t have had before and give her life a twist. Neighsay said it in School Raze´s ending (not the exact quote):"Sometimes, for getting to know yourself, you might need a whole life to understand it",he said it for his feelings towards the students.
>it could go with Canterlot having a very competitive environment that strives for perfection and TS' freak out prone nature being actually bred from this environment, even if she was sheltered from it.Now that's a darker take that actually could work in canon
now, that could work as a down to earth theory. In fact, I could go a bit further with it by saying that ponies didn´t go outside their usual places because of their fear to the unknown(Everfree Forest, other species residences...) and all the establishments may have been heaped until recently. Maybe some of that competitive environment opened up, went into different places where they needed it and give less tensions for the main library.

>North of Vanhoover looks to be a candidate
>the maps don't match fully match but seems close enough
I didn´t know where to locate it on the map, I thought it was at the Southwest,near Las Pegasus,simply because of the calm ocean.The locations do show flaws whenever they update them. While the movie additions are defined,the other places don´t have much thought nor show proportional distances,let alone tthe hive and the kirin village. Good luck at finding them.

If that doesn´t leave you doubting,tell me about pic related.


Anon 05/03/2019 (Fri) 01:08:19 [Preview] No.4045 del
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I have to add a little note before I forget about it. While giving the episode another spin,I have noticed a writing technique that makes this episode really subtle until the messages comes in.

The Point of No Return 's main plot device relies all the time on double standards/unclear ambivalences and the obsessions from Twilight. The next events wouldn't have happened if Twilight had stopped a little bit more and had left her obsessions aside. Notice how natural the expressions from the secondary characters are yet they are extremely calculated so Twilight wouldn't jump onto other conclusions that would lead to other actions.

Only Twilight decided when to stop the expostion for such information. Normally this technique would be qualified as lazy from writer's part but I do believe that the main goal here was the moral and Berrow simply played with the anxieties that come naturally from Twilight. If she had done this with any other character or let those explanations go further,the plot would have been ruined completely for deliverin that moral. There is nothing inherently wrong with it and the fact that it doesn't show signs of forcing such situation,it means that the episode has succeded at what it wanted to do. It's gone really subtle so the average viewer doesn't notice the fragility behind it.

A fine line that I cherish a lot because of how they have handled the dialogue. I should have exposed this in the previous posts.


Anon 05/07/2019 (Tue) 01:16:53 [Preview] No.4048 del
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What can I say about this episode? It did beat my expectations with how it went into the dynamics of divorce a bit more point blank than I thought it would. Though this could be also stand for remarriage after a dead parent just as well. I thought it handled it pretty well. Didn't feel awkward or anything. This really was more of Quibble Pants episode than Dash's, which is interesting. I think it works.
Wind Sprint is cute and it does really feel like they were trying to harmer in that situation with a more realistic character. Her voice acting is less cutesy more like a normal child.

All and all I dig it. Can't stop thinking your thoughts on Surf and or Turf, as it goes pretty close territory regardless if you take it as divorce or death. 8.5/10. I almost gave it a 9 but I'm not sure it quite means that mark... at least when I'm trying to way overall enjoyment quality, etc. Still think this episode lesson is extremely well done, and maybe relevant to some of those who are watching. Now that's something to think about there.

Now for some other observations:
1: So Buckball is really becoming big? Interesting. It's interesting that Team Ponyville of all things would be considered a cornerstone of the sport as well. It seems to have been a sport that was played between small earth pony towns but is catching mainstream popularity. There is a lot of places I could go with this observation (size of Appleloosa's stadium. Does this impact Pinkie's and Fluttershy's lives much? Rewatching Buckball season to see if there is anything that sticks out, etc), but those considerations can wait for more later analysis on the timeline and the show itself.
2:
>I never thought I'd get to be in anything like a hall of fame before
Fluttershy said this in season 9. This is not a nikpick, it's in character for Fluttershy to say. Just funny.
3:Quibble Pants' ignorance on things goes into stupid territory with not knowing what bucking is or baskets. Yet it seems to be in line with the urbanized population of Equestria. Remember Aunt Orange not knowing what a chicken was? And that was all the way back in season 1.


Anon 05/07/2019 (Tue) 01:38:39 [Preview] No.4049 del
>>4042
>>4043
>Twilight sure feels different with so much time and development behind her. It´s like watching an alien (sort of) because of how far she has gone in her trajectory, from a bookworm of Canterlot to the Princess of Friendship.
Makes me wanna rewatch the first 3 seasons to compare. I'd like to do a grand analysis of the series of some sort. Though I do not know where to start, so I'll probably just pic certain aspects and debates run with those instead. It's creepy to me thinking how much content that will now entail, but I can't complain.

>see? This episode doesn´t have any intention to be a highlight nor surprising but philosophical and drive you to a simple lesson: stop and think about what you want to do.
This is almost a bit haunting when you put it this way as I can relate to that personally in life. In several ways.

>well, if your minor complaint is about the pacing, I honestly don´t see it (maybe the short Moondancer cameo?).
I don't know. Its such a tiny feeling that it doesn't really bug me much. But it is there, and thinking critically I have no idea why.

>that detail went really meta. It´s confusing yet you laugh at it by simply asking how they managed to pull a meta nod to the universe itself.
No complaints here that's for sure. Just interesting to think about from an in universe perspective (and to laugh about outside it).

>Berrow has shown nods of past episodes which is one of her biggest strengths and she took the flashbacks with tweezers and keep the subtle plotholes aside. She visited the library in Amending Fences yet she is aware of Moondancer, the curry restaurant from Spice Up Your Life and the Silver Shoals appeared in PPOV. Her episodes usually rely on showing continuity and reward those who have watched the previous episodes so maybe this doesn´t come as an incident after all.
True. If she was aware of that fact activly I wonder if she did it just to keep continuity and allow the plot to exist or if there could be any tiny ideas or impliactions with it that could be taken. Which reminds me of a very old MLP form post from 2012. If I ever find it it could be relevant to what I mean.

>Tara Strong sounds way different in that part. For sure they have kept the original audio and simply added the book animation when it was thrown under the bookshelf.
I need to rewatch. I was wondering if they showed her using TK with a field around objects and not just sparkles.

>Fanfic writers, where are you?! You are free to make implications of this little appearance!
Make it /confy/!


Anon 05/07/2019 (Tue) 03:04:50 [Preview] No.4050 del
>>4044
>>4045
>say that to Japan when you copy in an exam and tell me what happens next.
Pretty much this.

>now, that could work as a down to earth theory.
I mean from what we've seen in the show it certainly fits. Stuckup rich ponies that try to be yes ponies to a few central figures (Fancy Pants, Prince Blueblood, Princess Celestia, etc). Twilight was obviously at the very least partly sheltered by the princess, but that environment she wouldn't still be exposed to significantly. This is an interesting idea, as it could mean that some of the personality traits were much more environmental and puts an (albeit very tiny) dark twist on Twilight freak out moments.

>I could go a bit further with it by saying that ponies didn´t go outside their usual places because of their fear to the unknown(Everfree Forest, other species residences...) and all the establishments may have been heaped until recently. Maybe some of that competitive environment opened up, went into different places where they needed it and give less tensions for the main library.
My old idea on that was more of a theory on limited transportation and communication, but this works better in light of the past 4 seasons of quick travel. I'll add onto it that the events such as the appearance of the Crystal Empire and much later the Hippogrifs probably caused ponies to be more curious of areas outside there home town. Crystal Ponies traveling Equestrian railways plus the Equestrian Games in the Chrystal Empire would've brought attention and spurred trade. Perhaps too a secondary effect of a new mass media (Gossipy Tabloids, Beginings of limmited movies, comic books, enchanted comicbooks?) Spreading more cultural curiosity at a time of much changes to a once established constant of the 1000 year reign of Celestia without her sister.

> I thought it was at the Southwest,near Las Pegasus,simply because of the calm ocean.
I was thinking of that at first as well, but then I looked it up and saw it mentioned on the wiki and checked the tweet source itself. It still is questionable when looking at both in show maps and comparing them. I just figured they say, "eh, close enough" but you know it could be a completely different place.

>If that doesn´t leave you doubting,tell me about pic related.
Or it could be somewhere close to the source of corruption in this world.

>The Point of No Return 's main plot device relies all the time on double standards/unclear ambivalences and the obsessions from Twilight. The next events wouldn't have happened if Twilight had stopped a little bit more and had left her obsessions aside. Notice how natural the expressions from the secondary characters are yet they are extremely calculated so Twilight wouldn't jump onto other conclusions that would lead to other actions.
Top tier. This wasn't them unnaturally bending things for a plot device that was for sure.

>A fine line that I cherish a lot because of how they have handled the dialogue.
Indeed a fine line. It interesting to think about and makes me wanna go back with a more critical eye for background events.


Anon 05/07/2019 (Tue) 03:53:33 [Preview] No.4053 del
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Who'd thought that Snips and Snails of all ponies would be more relvant than Diamound Tira and Silver Spoon toward the last season?


Anon 05/07/2019 (Tue) 03:57:02 [Preview] No.4054 del
>>4048
>Her voice acting is less cutesy more like a normal child.
Because her voice actor is a normal child. I can't believe I forgot that it was Patton Oswalt!


Anon 05/07/2019 (Tue) 03:58:13 [Preview] No.4055 del
>>4054
daughter I meant to type that last part. Hehe. Goodnight /endpone


Anon 05/07/2019 (Tue) 03:59:56 [Preview] No.4056 del
>>4055
Am I going crazy? I...

.pink

. pink

.. pink


Anon 05/07/2019 (Tue) 04:02:41 [Preview] No.4057 del
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>>4055
Yeah, I'm confused. Don't know how I got pink.


Anon 05/07/2019 (Tue) 04:07:12 [Preview] No.4058 del
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Anon 05/08/2019 (Wed) 06:37:34 [Preview] No.4065 del
Maybe Celestia is more darker than we thought?


Anon 05/09/2019 (Thu) 22:09:27 [Preview] No.4067 del
>>4048
>it did beat my expectations with how it went into the dynamics of divorce a bit more point blank than I thought it would. Though this could be also stand for remarriage after a dead parent just as well. I thought it handled it pretty well.
they have basically hidden it with the buckball plot device, mostly because...

>This really was more of Quibble Pants episode than Dash's, which is interesting
if you check the EQD article about what Jim Miller tweets behind the scenes of this episode, you will see that this correlates a lot with Patton´s life and his relationship. Not that it has happened this way but for sure, they have introduced his family as if Patton wanted to offer more of himself with MLP as a tool. It turns out that the three have acted together in the same room...as a family.

>it does really feel like they were trying to harmer in that situation with a more realistic character. Her voice acting is less cutesy more like a normal child.
it´s because she acted by herself. Patton´s daughter actually voiced her character and not a fake VA that pretends to be a filly like Cathy does with Spike or Tabitha with Flurry Heart.

>Can't stop thinking your thoughts on Surf and or Turf, as it goes pretty close territory regardless if you take it as divorce or death.
I still have that episode with a higher regard, mostly because of the context and the magical situation, not to mention that I have seen a lot of times in sitcoms this plot device of trying to impress a girl by pretending what you are not. Thankfully, it went with the antinatural route of that cliché and didn´t excess with it and Quibble admitted that he in no way would fit as a sports pony.

This one felt more realistic in its vibes(a la American way) but the interactions and the hybrid of this story and behind its development are what truly kill it.

>Still think this episode lesson is extremely well done, and maybe relevant to some of those who are watching.
definitely. I am noticing a trend that FiM is tackling with very down to earth lessons that could happen literally to anyone in these episodes. It´s almost getting into a territory in which you cannot tell if this is an animated sitcom or a toy commercial.

>It seems to have been a sport that was played between small earth pony towns but is catching mainstream popularity.
it´s had like three seasons to grow and they showed it at the school as well. It makes that Appleloosa has become the center of it, considering that it all started there and the Ponyville team did a match against Braeburn. Probably this popularity has risen because they are Twilight´s friends and already have a reputation(?). I don´t know...

>Fluttershy said this in season 9. This is not a nikpick, it's in character for Fluttershy to say. Just funny.
what´s even more ironic is that she said that for a minor sport that they have practiced in their free time. If she actually knew how relevant her group of friends is, we would run out of medals and titles.

>Quibble Pants' ignorance on things goes into stupid territory with not knowing what bucking is or baskets.
he really goes into a really retarded territory. I mean, come on, how the hell cannot you tell ordinary objects? If they were magical objects, you would still get an excuse for it but there´s no way one can get that level of incompetence

>Remember Aunt Orange not knowing what a chicken was? And that was all the way back in season 1.
uh oh, I worry about the mind of some ponies. I thought that for example, Silver Stream getting too excited about stairs would drive you to a facepalm but this level just screams why and not even a triple facepalm from the Star Trek series would make justice to that.


Anon 05/09/2019 (Thu) 22:34:54 [Preview] No.4068 del
>>4049
>I'd like to do a grand analysis of the series of some sort.It's creepy to me thinking how much content that will now entail, but I can't complain.
for such an analysis like that, it requires time and its own quantity of endeavor. Sure, they will feel simpler most of the time but establishing comparisons on your own, it would be a great gesture from your part.

>This is almost a bit haunting when you put it this way as I can relate to that personally in life. In several ways.
my way to express it drives you to think like that with a clearer view. However, the haunting aspect shouldn´t be my narrative of that episode but the fact that they are getting too close to sending messages that end up in the universal zone where anyone can experience it. No magic nor pinkish/outlandish situations, just minor detours or incidents that define life and get to deliver a message like that, considering that you cannot build it up with the most exciting plot devices to use for it.

>Its such a tiny feeling that it doesn't really bug me much. But it is there, and thinking critically I have no idea why.
well, take your time for it. Not everything comes instantly.

>Just interesting to think about from an in universe perspective (and to laugh about outside it).
reality becomes fiction, so it does in reverse. Now, we only need Pinkie breaking the 4th wall from the real world to fiction. Only then, the circle will be fully completed.

>I wonder if she did it just to keep continuity and allow the plot to exist or if there could be any tiny ideas or impliactions with it that could be taken.
a very good question indeed. I don´t have an answer for this one but either way, she would need an excuse for this to pay off. She mixed all of this as a means to an end for a very different context and intentions.

>I was wondering if they showed her using TK with a field around objects and not just sparkles.
that definitely needs a comparison even if it´s by Youtube

>Make it /confy/!
they were having a good time so you may get lucky with your petition


Anon 05/09/2019 (Thu) 23:22:37 [Preview] No.4069 del
>>4050
>Twilight was obviously at the very least partly sheltered by the princess, but that environment she wouldn't still be exposed to significantly
>some of the personality traits were much more environmental and puts a dark twist on Twilight freak out moments
sounds like you have headcanonized the backstory for that mentality that she showed in Lesson Zero. It complements her nervous take while she was trying to pass her test in the Cutie Mark Chronicles.She caused a great chaos with her magic beams for opening Spike´s egg

Canterlot has usually been the biggest standard where you could find the top unicorns that one would feel intimidated at first. As the seasons went on and on (with episodes like Sweet And Elite or Make Friends But Keep Discord)such environmental tensions would lessen that sense of intimidation. It follows the same trend that we get from Celestia: first she looks like the goddess and then, she gets much closer to these ordinary ponies over time, becoming a less sacred figure and acting more like an experienced mentor instead

>the events such as the appearance of the Crystal Empire and much later the Hippogrifs probably caused ponies to be more curious of areas outside there home town
the Crystal Empire definitely marked an inflection point.It was designed just to sell toys but it was the first "foreign" place that gave the idea of a bigger world and started the world building that would get more impact over time(even if Crystal ponies were nothing extraordinary but they began the introduction of fresh characters/species).The Hippogriffs simply finished the map(only the south was incomplete)and the complete establishment of the map of Equestria

>Perhaps a secondary effect of a new mass media
>Spreading more cultural curiosity at a time of much changes to a once established constant of the 1000 year reign of Celestia without her sister.
fair enough.You wouldn´t fall too far from the canon events because the mane 6 have taught their culture to the students and it´s possible that other ponies experimented those effects before.Not to mention that the racism came from ponies in the earlier seasons and not in the latest ones(from the Equestria Games onwards),leaving the Chancellor as the exception.

>I just figured they say, "eh, close enough" but it could be a completely different place.
same.It doesn´t bother me all that much though.

>it could be somewhere close to the source of corruption in this world.
we are talking about a spot from the West almost out of bounds,you can speculate almost anything.

>This wasn't them unnaturally bending things for a plot device that was for sure.
>interesting to think about and makes me wanna go back with a more critical eye for background events.
this could be one of the reasons this episode could be a grower.The plot might look simple and dull but the way it´s driven subtly,it might not be so easy to pull out on practice.Whenever you rewatch it,focus on the supporting cast and you will see how all of them help for driving to lead one complex path instead of the faster solutions.

>>4053
>Snips and Snails of all ponies would be more relvant than Diamound Tira and Silver Spoon toward the last season
Snails definitely got a 2nd chance with Buckball Season. From a stupid one joke character that could have entered in the top 10 least favorite ponies, to a little retard that gives you a smile and actually serve for the plot to keep going. Impressive how such useless characters that served to Trixie back then have had a better take from the writers.

>>4055
Patton´s daughter voiced her character along with her parents in the same room.Their smiles in the ending give an idea of what might have happened while recording it.No way the main ideas for episodes like this or the 200th one came because of spontaneous thoughts during the process

>>4065
Celestia is the owner of Facebook.I don´t know about you but I fear for the information of her previous students at her school. That picture could explain why she has played 4d chess so much and trolled the rest of the cast


Anon 05/10/2019 (Fri) 03:35:15 [Preview] No.4075 del
>>4067
>they have basically hidden it with the buckball plot device, mostly because...
>it´s because she acted by herself. Patton´s daughter actually voiced her character and not a fake VA that pretends to be a filly like Cathy does with Spike or Tabitha with Flurry Heart.
I have to say she did a pretty good job for being an IRL filly. Not 100%, but most of th lines she nailed alright.

>Not that it has happened this way but for sure, they have introduced his family as if Patton wanted to offer more of himself with MLP as a tool. It turns out that the three have acted together in the same room...as a family.
That is both interesting, kinda cool, and a little strange depending on how you read it.

>I still have that episode with a higher regard, mostly because of the context and the magical situation, not to mention that I have seen a lot of times in sitcoms this plot device of trying to impress a girl by pretending what you are not.
>This one felt more realistic in its vibes(a la American way) but the interactions and the hybrid of this story and behind its development are what truly kill it.
Agreed. This had a good bit more going into it than filler and fanservice that's for sure.

> It´s almost getting into a territory in which you cannot tell if this is an animated sitcom or a toy commercial.
For the crew: it's a sitcom (at least in that episode)
For Hasbro: it's a toy commercial.
For me: it is something that occupies multiple states and is a special place that's hard to classify.

>he really goes into a really retarded territory. I mean, come on, how the hell cannot you tell ordinary objects? If they were magical objects, you would still get an excuse for it but there´s no way one can get that level of incompetence
The only semi-legitimate excuse I can think of if he was just freaking out and being melodramatic, but we have seen urbanized and particularly elite ponies being portrayed as completely obtuse before on very simple maters and his lack of knowledge seemed pretty sincere...

>uh oh, I worry about the mind of some ponies
Me too. I wanna go back and see what patterns I can find with this. It could be pretty condemning evidence of the upper middle to rich classes education.

>I thought that for example, Silver Stream getting too excited about stairs would drive you to a facepalm
That made no sense but there are ways to rationalize it and joke about it.

>screams why and not even a triple facepalm from the Star Trek series would make justice to that.
Indeed. I don't know what would either.


Anon 05/10/2019 (Fri) 03:57:49 [Preview] No.4076 del
>>4068
>>4069
>for such an analysis like that, it requires time and its own quantity of endeavor. Sure, they will feel simpler most of the time but establishing comparisons on your own, it would be a great gesture from your part.
I may just watch through a a bunch of episodes from across seasons and see what I notice, Though I may end up only pointing out individual patterns (Treatment of th mane6 over time, tech level, plot devices, what have you), but it be cool to try to do a grand analysis of everything.

>No magic nor pinkish/outlandish situations, just minor detours or incidents that define life and get to deliver a message like that, considering that you cannot build it up with the most exciting plot devices to use for it.
That is indeed haunting in itself.

>sounds like you have headcanonized the backstory for that mentality that she showed in Lesson Zero. It complements her nervous take while she was trying to pass her test in the Cutie Mark Chronicles.She caused a great chaos with her magic beams for opening Spike´s egg
I still may give season 1/2 another go around before I fully run with it to see if there is anything else I missed that could connect with or break (even if it's a tiny through away implication). But it does appeal to me quite strongly.

>Not to mention that the racism came from ponies in the earlier seasons and not in the latest ones(from the Equestria Games onwards),leaving the Chancellor as the exception.
Another interesting thing that probably never get looked at is how the different pony races have a history of racism to each other. It would be interesting to see somepony, say, Chancellor Neighsay, be a full egalitarian with the pony races while being racist with the others all at once.
But I'm kinda running a different path with what you wre replying to.

>same.It doesn´t bother me all that much though.
In fact it maybe better if they don't so it keeps things from being more confusing.


Anon 05/10/2019 (Fri) 04:54:47 [Preview] No.4077 del
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>>4069
>From a stupid one joke character that could have entered in the top 10 least favorite ponies, to a little retard that gives you a smile and actually serve for the plot to keep going
It's amazing how much of an ascent that was and was surprised to see them back full to form. It'd be nice for DT SS to get one last significant appearance, or heck, speaking roll. I never was fan of them but feel that they could have had at least another more interesting episode or two with the CMC.


Anon 05/10/2019 (Fri) 05:07:32 [Preview] No.4078 del
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>>4069
>Celestia is the owner of Facebook.I don´t know about you but I fear for the information of her previous students at her school.
She is Mark Zuckerberg, downright insane to think about but's the only thing that makes sense. How did she know she need discord? Facebook. How did she know that Twilight Sparkle was the right pony? Facebook. How did she know of Facebook? Facebook! Facebook! Facebook! IT'S ALL ON FACEBOOK. She is not playing 4d chess, but 8d chess, she cocaine Celly!

>Their smiles in the ending give an idea of what might have happened while recording it.No way the main ideas for episodes like this or the 200th one came because of spontaneous thoughts during the process
Agreed.


Anon 05/12/2019 (Sun) 16:11:03 [Preview] No.4093 del
>>4075
>I have to say she did a pretty good job for being an IRL filly. Not 100%, but most of th lines she nailed alright.
yeah, there are no complaints about that.

>a little strange depending on how you read it.
well, you need to interpret a few subtle details out there. Considering that Jim has posted a lot of tweets behind the production of this episode, you would take a guess why all of this has happened and was translated into a public episode.

>This had a good bit more going into it than filler and fanservice that's for sure.
probably both episodes have their good amount of context in the show but as for fanservice...I know that Stranger than Fanfcition and Buckball Season were well received episodes (for a season like the 6th one) but I cannot notice the fanservice except having VA celebrities again. I guess Weird Al fits more to the term fanservice than Patton in this case, especially when you take into account that this episode felt more personal for him this time.

> it is something that occupies multiple states and is a special place that's hard to classify.
if we put on the Aristotelian mode, that would be placed in the middle of the road to balance it. I cannot blame you because I can´t put a clear tag to this show either. It´s done a lot of things over the years that in the end, stands as its main appeal.

>I can think of if he was just freaking out and being melodramatic
well, not even halfway there. Considering these kind of clichés, writers normally put this character into an ignorant mode just to keep the plot going.

>we have seen urbanized and particularly elite ponies being portrayed as completely obtuse
oh yeah,so much elitism for those standards. Well, you cannot get worse than the royal guard, can you?

>before on very simple maters and his lack of knowledge seemed pretty sincere...
well, that´s what saves the episode from its own clichés and the humble nature of this show comes in. Another factor that prevented it from being formulaic is that Clear Sky also helped him to solve the problem rather than being the only objective of the episode.

>It could be pretty condemning evidence of the upper middle to rich classes education.
it´s not the money what defines a brain but the interest from one self. I had read once that rich people are less observant about their surroundings mostly because they worry much less than the lower classes who have to look at every penny all the time. Also, their education relies on their method, not on money. Having a lot of resources help but that factor doesn´t manage to be the main key for their level. I wonder if they entered in Celestia´s school and passed easily the courses.

>there are ways to rationalize it and joke about it.
considering the latest episode, it proves that she gets really excited about stuff that she hasn´t seen before. Does that mean she is interested whenever she discover new things?


Anon 05/12/2019 (Sun) 16:33:53 [Preview] No.4094 del
>>4076
>just watch through a a bunch of episodes from across seasons and see what I notice, Though I may end up only pointing out individual patterns
that´s most likely the most productive method to bring onto the table. You get a different kind of analysis whenever you put similar/related episodes at their core and not having to wait until the new ones get produced.

>I still may give season 1/2 another go around before I fully run with it to see if there is anything else
fair enough. You will be impressed how different they will feel in comparison. I can imagine the reactions from a mile.

>Another interesting thing that probably never get looked at is how the different pony races have a history of racism to each other. It would be interesting to see somepony, say, Chancellor Neighsay, be a full egalitarian with the pony races while being racist with the others all at once.
damn, that sounds mysterious yet kind of hypocritical from his part. How would he manage to unionize them, putting their differences apart while the rest get classified as inferior? I suppose he would adopt that mindset because of the windigos menace, otherwise I don´t know how he would establish it out of nowhere unless we had a personal experience of his past.

>it maybe better if they don't so it keeps things from being more confusing.
yeah. We´ve got almost all the important places located so whenever we look at the official map, fans will point out "X town should be here" in the comments every single time.

>>4077
>It's amazing how much of an ascent that was and was surprised to see them back full to form.
agreed. Another example that everything relies on ideas and the writing process.

>It'd be nice for DT SS to get one last significant appearance, or heck, speaking roll.
yeah, they have literally disappeared since the 5th season,only getting a little cameo in the 6th season. If a fan only watched from season 6 onwards, DT and SS would be literal who for him. That picture describes in a pretty funny way their entire existence.

>>4078
>How did she know she need discord? Facebook. How did she know that Twilight Sparkle was the right pony? Facebook. How did she know of Facebook? Facebook! Facebook! Facebook! IT'S ALL ON FACEBOOK. She is not playing 4d chess, but 8d chess, she cocaine Celly!
8d chess? That sounds crazy but if you take into account that gameloft line, she plays 4d chess in two universes at the same time. There it is. We have been living in a lie, no wonder she knows the trolling techniques and the information of everyone. Her only weak point is that she isn´t keen on fighting and loses almost all the time whenever they face her directly.


Anon 05/12/2019 (Sun) 16:35:56 [Preview] No.4095 del
before we get to review the latest episode, considering that this will be about one of the students, it means that the ratings will be certainly interesting to witness...


Anon 05/18/2019 (Sat) 06:39:48 [Preview] No.4111 del
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REVIEW INCOMING!

This episode was fine. No major problems for me. I think it did fine with the pacing. It had a quick set up and got right to the montages and training. There were several little laughs that I had, especially when Yona smashing the Apple. The dance wasn't the most extravagant failure climax in social settings. It's a little weak when compared to Sweet and Elite and Make New Friends but Keep Discord but it's serviceable enough. I actually liked the song a little more than I thought I would. Favorite aspect was it being localized to Ponyville. It made it feel true /confy/ slice of life.

7.5/10 Not groundbreaking but still pretty good. I'm no hater to this one that's for sure.

Other notes:
>Fetlock Fete, yet another yearly tradition. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm... I wonder how many yearly events that have made one off appearances have shown up so far? If I do a go through of the series I'll check it out or just look at the wiki Some say we maybe approaching stupid territory but honestly I've seen my fair share of small town Texas and I can say that some of them surely could have as many.
2: It isn't necessarily wasted, but wouldn't this plot have fit Ocellus well? With her being a changeling and all it could've been her actually change into a pony. It may have not changed the moral all that much but it may have been more fun. Then again, Yona x Sandbar is a cute ship.
3: Or is it a friendship? Thats what the award was for, even if there is implied romantic tension it may not count as full canon shipping.
4: Spike's outfit. I know he's the DJ but he is no DJ PON 3 in fashion sense.
5: The mane 5 preformed okay support, not the best bit appearances but far from upstaging or being used stupidly. Just average with Rarity being slightly above average.


Anon 05/18/2019 (Sat) 06:44:56 [Preview] No.4112 del
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This face I like. Though I'd like to someday study the changes and use of different faces throughout the seasons. Which is yet another thing to observe that makes the prospect of going through the seasons harder. Though if I was rigorous it maybe worthwhile.


Anon 05/19/2019 (Sun) 00:57:52 [Preview] No.4118 del
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From what I'v seen of 8 reaction it looks like it could be fun.


Anon 05/20/2019 (Mon) 00:00:13 [Preview] No.4121 del
>>4118
I will tell you for now that it would surprise me a lot if you gave Frenemies a worse rating than Yona´s one because...

do you know why I do keep mentioning To Where and Back Again constantly over and over again? It´s because I have the belief that writers lost the fear of writing about other characters by carry the plot and bring that feeling of friendship.

If they managed to bring comedy, character interactions from a slice of life perspective and growth between them without using the mane 6, just using Thorax, Dolores, Discord and Trixie; why shouldn´t they repeat it again? They applied that to the students and we´ve got What Lies Beneath and now....


HOLY F*yay*ING VILLAINS, IT´S THAT GOOD.

This is pure FANSERVICE, with all the letters. You would imagine that villains cannot have interactions but even the devil has to speak and deal with conflicts... and Vogel has been capable to carry that magic with these three!

[spoiler]A SLICE OF LIFE EPISODE, not about the good guys but about Chrysalis, Tirek and Cozy Glow. Not a few minutes....nah nah, nothing of that. The ENTIRE episode is dedicated to them, only them and Grogar, no one else.[spoiler]

Friendship is Magic still has surprises and it will bring them until the last minute. You thought that we had seen everything yet...


Anon 05/20/2019 (Mon) 05:25:10 [Preview] No.4123 del
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Haven't read your thoughts yet just got through Frenimies.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!
WHAT DID JUST HAPPEN?
wow!


Anon 05/20/2019 (Mon) 06:08:25 [Preview] No.4124 del
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This episode was off the charts.

Alright. I had standard expectations coming into this. I thought I'd like the dynamic but I was a little cautious over the main plot just because how much stuff was dependent on the set up. But wow... All the villains were utilized properly. The dynamic was indeed good and I enjoyed them all bickering and trying to make it up. I had a confirmation of the prediction I'd like Cozy Glow this season, but what I didn't expect was how well of all things Queen Chrysalis was used in this episode. Her powers, her actions, personality. I can't believe that Queen Chrysalis of all anyone would be the character I was most impressed with in this. I mean it she was written perfectly in a way that caught me off guard. Tirek I'd say was the weakest performance in that he was more whinny and had a less sharply defined traits than the other 2 but that is only a minor note; they still used him well enough. Though, what brings this episode it and brings it out for me is what they did at the end. The fact that the evil trio has already taken action an hid the bell from Grogar caught me off guard completely. This now a build up and one that opens a bit of new possibilities for the endgame. This fact alone is what pushes me to give the rating of this special at...

9.85/10
Maybe I should give it a 10/10 but I'll to give it a couple of rewatches first and see how I feel at the end of the season.

Other notes: IDK there is so much to go over.
1): Grogar mentions millennia that he has been trying to get his bell at Mt Everhoof. That's pretty long time.
2): Mt Everhoof, I like the location. I originally thought that they may just go a route of it just being fearsome weather, but when they had the darker creatures and the shield I could buy Grogar actually not being able to get to it for so long. Better than I could buy a lot of the other obstacles/nurfs for the more powerful characters.
3): Them hiding the bell so close is something that is stupid but it served a thematic use and a visual story hint to younger viewers, so it passes in my book. Only when such things conflict with what we have seen established in universe before do I take issue. (Like Celestia and Luna is stupid by the standards of the show's own universe and their characters with what they did with wanting to transfer power so quickly).
4): Speaking of younger viewers. This show certainly has gone past its roots. I was surprised when Cozy Glow happily bragged of backstabbing so bluntly and Crissy saying that Tirek had it handed to his hindquarters. This would never been said in season 2. The latter line being an actual substitute just one word handed in the ass it's something I'd say that's almost too close.
5): This makes the endgame and rest of the season much more interesting and the prospect of a three way fight for a part of the final I find really cool. New possible direction: Crissy, Cozy and Tirek may defeat everypony while they are evil only to realize the virtue of friendship at the end. It would fulfill them having never defeated Equestria on their own while also proving friendship's power to them.


Anon 05/20/2019 (Mon) 06:49:08 [Preview] No.4125 del
Okay, one thing that caught me off guard was how well Crissy was used. I mean this in a few different ways. One of which is how competent she was in her endeavorers solo. When they first split up my first thought was them all being utterly humiliated and being taught to work together (Cozy Glow perhaps was a little but this environment didn't play to her strength: manipulation). Chrysalis actually brushing the creature off surprised me because I didn't expect to see that from a plot prospective, because of how the show usually makes a character stupider or sm over the enemy/obstacle stronger or more cleaver in later seasons a lot of times. The fact that she fully utilized her changeling abilities and actually was the one to the furthest surprised me even further. Think of it, her changing into a Ursa Minor and simply moving the tree aside was something that would be certainly in her power if our little student six changeling can do similar feats, but I'd never expected to see it brought for use by her at all. Also, look how large Tirek got by sucking up her magic, considering how he'd grow in conjunction with the amount of power he consumes and you just made Crissy actually quiet power. Heck, when she mentioned that meal was the best in a long time and she had done that entire journey in what is supposed to be a weakened state compared to her feeding on Cadence's love for Shining... The only problem with this is that was she so powerful and competent in this episode that it outright conflicts with previous appearances?

But I do not mean just raw power or skill. Her character was handled perfectly here and I do mean it. Her refusal and continued reminding of everypony she was a queen. Her banter, her causal use of her power to mock Twilight Sparkle. This is more important than any magical feat in quality from an objective messure. It felt like she was perfectly utilized fully on all fronts in a way I almost can't believe. This was a breakout performance for her. More so than I say Cozy Glow or Tirek. I am surprised on how many things they got right.

And ya'know something else? This may come as a surprise to y'all but I have never really given who my favorite villain character was much thought. At least in a serious way as defined category. Surprising considering that I've been on this ride since 2011. Now I will have to think about it.


Anon 05/20/2019 (Mon) 07:04:06 [Preview] No.4126 del
>>4121
>I will tell you for now that it would surprise me a lot if you gave Frenemies a worse rating than Yona´s
Because I'd have to be utterly insane to if I did?

>if they managed to bring comedy, character interactions from a slice of life perspective and growth between them without using the mane 6, just using Thorax, Dolores, Discord and Trixie; why shouldn´t they repeat it again? They applied that to the students and we´ve got What Lies Beneath and now....
Though I'm a little mixed on TWaBA, yeah in both of those episodes character brought new and cool stuff to the table.
This one?

>HOLY F*yay*ING VILLAINS, IT´S THAT GOOD.
This episode was amazing. That's all I can say. I'm tempted to give it a 10/10 and I don't generally feel doing that for things I like. I'm blown away, especially with that ending.

BRING ON MORE VILLAIN STUFF!

There is so much to talk about and... I have far more to say, now its getting late but ya can count me on the hype train for sure. I feel a spark even of something.

God bless, goodnight live long and prosper, happy early christmas and...
BRING ON THE SEASON!
yes, sometimes my internet depending were I'm at is that bad.


Anon 05/20/2019 (Mon) 22:06:27 [Preview] No.4127 del
>>4123
>WHAT DID JUST HAPPEN?
it happened.

>I had standard expectations coming into this. I thought I'd like the dynamic but I was a little cautious over the main plot just because how much stuff was dependent on the set up.
are you me? I had no expectations save going into the streaming site and click on it. I prefer not to think about the episodes beforehand.

>The dynamic was indeed good and I enjoyed them all bickering and trying to make it up.
the best part is that despite dedicating time to the villains, it felt like an episode that you would get from the mane 6. The core spirit of the show was here all the time and this might be the reason this episode has beaten all our expectations.

>had a confirmation of the prediction I'd like Cozy Glow this season
she has paid off as a character since the premiere. We knew her insincere personality would bring the comedy onto the table.

>I can't believe that Queen Chrysalis of all anyone would be the character I was most impressed with in this. I mean it she was written perfectly in a way that caught me off guard.
keep in mind this, when she was introduced it felt like she was the cool plot device in order to justify Shining Armor and Cadence for the toys about their wedding.
They gave us a really cool finale in season 2 but, did they think that much about her or the changelings back then? Writers didn´t have a clue until the 6th season. It´s quite possible that, like Celestia´s case, Chrysalis was an archetype of a villain but didn´t gave her much backstory save her desire for the power. It´s in episodes like this, in a slice of life episode, you slowly get to notice her reactions and her inner thoughts. Same for Tirek, who have thought that he likes to workout in his free time?

>The fact that the evil trio has already taken action an hid the bell from Grogar caught me off guard completely. This now a build up and one that opens a bit of new possibilities for the endgame.
you could notice that they were minor villains in comparison to Grogar. However, Grogar´s orb might have revealed him that they had found the bell and makes you wonder why he trusted on these three to take the bell anyway. Was he tricking them for a means to an end? He had more power than them combined, he used the power to chain and shut them up with his magic (which was a fraction of it).

It´s almost like he could betray them whenever he gets the power (like the Stork King did with Tempest). This opens up indeed a new possibility: the redemption route. That ending by forcing to cut the moral of friendship being good makes you wonder where they could go. They could have made a few decisions that would lead into a disaster (like draining the pony magic from Rusty Bucket, yet they only humiliated him with the snow avalanche.That´s an improvement for an ordinary laugh, I guess?) yet they didn´t do that.

Also a tango song.

>9.85/10
I was about to say 10 out of 10 as well. It surprised me to no end and I had a lot of joy watching their interactions. FiM could make a spin off of whatever character they want to write about and they would still kill it.


Anon 05/20/2019 (Mon) 22:31:15 [Preview] No.4128 del
>>4124
>Grogar mentions millennia that he has been trying to get his bell at Mt Everhoof. That's pretty long time.
yet all that time lapse is the same: 1000 years....just like Celestia did with her sister´s banishment. Coincidence that they use the same amount of time for such events? I think not.

>when they had the darker creatures and the shield I could buy Grogar actually not being able to get to it for so long.
I still believe that Grogar could have made it by himself and just put these three into a challenge, just to test them. He´s reserving his own energy for future events that will require all of its power.

>Better than I could buy a lot of the other obstacles/nurfs for the more powerful characters.
indeed. The location itself didn´t need to be that challenging but more like a test of teamwork. The mindset in order to beat is what counts the most for the achievement.

>Them hiding the bell so close is something that is stupid but it served a thematic use and a visual story hint to younger viewers, so it passes in my book.
it was obvious but it needed that exposure. Being more subtle could lead to a couple of posters not getting it and start an argument about plotholes.

>This show certainly has gone past its roots.
this show has jumped the shark so many times that the shark has applied the job in MLP in order to jump with certain frequency. MLP doesn´t fear to jump the shark at all, they own and deal with it.

>I was surprised when Cozy Glow happily bragged of backstabbing so bluntly and Crissy saying that Tirek had it handed to his hindquarters. This would never been said in season 2.
the episode could have gone into a pretty dark direction at anytime. However, when she admits that she would be capable of doing that, you don´t do it. You announce it beforehand and the enemy would take that into consideration and get prepared. Even Chysalis shouted: "Betrayal!" when they conspired about using her. That line went meta and it was an honest view from Cozy Glow. Without faking her smile, she admitted that and it worked for the comedy effect.

>The latter line being an actual substitute just one word handed in the ass it's something I'd say that's almost too close.
yeah, it´s almost like the writers know their audience, let alone if there are teenagers watching it instead of kids....

>New possible direction: Crissy, Cozy and Tirek may defeat everypony while they are evil only to realize the virtue of friendship at the end. It would fulfill them having never defeated Equestria on their own while also proving friendship's power to them.
yeah. It´s the most likely route to take. I wonder if Chrysalis is going to have the transformation and how she is going to look like whenever she feels that friendship for real.

The moral would turn out to be that you can feel good about yourself by helping others to feel good, so that healthy practice becomes as something good of your own and get that fulfillment from the inside. They have rejected it because of pride and cut it halfway there but we can tell where this is going.


Anon 05/20/2019 (Mon) 23:18:01 [Preview] No.4129 del
>>4125
>One of which is how competent she was in her endeavorers solo. When they first split up my first thought was them all being utterly humiliated and being taught to work together
they were doomed to be like that but the cliché of underpowering characters whenever they become good doesn´t apply (well, they aren´t good will characters but when villains take the lead role, they usually appear with a handicap).
But indeed, Chrysalis has shown to be really competent and I will say that she has more common sense in her plans than in A Canterlot Wedding. Her big headed mentality disappeared as soon as she almost got injured by the wind.

>I didn't expect to see that from a plot prospective, because of how the show usually makes a character stupider or sm over the enemy/obstacle stronger or more cleaver in later seasons a lot of times.
I should have read this better before typing these lines. That moment also works for a comedy effect. Menacing scary creature appears and the protagonists just laughs at its appearance in their own way. This isn´t new at all. Rarity did the same with the Everfree Forest in It isn´t the Mane Thing About You, she showed that madness to not only her friends but to all the ones that surrounded her, including the creatures hidden in the forest, meaning that the ponies just no longer care about them.

>her changing into a Ursa Minor and simply moving the tree aside was something that would be certainly in her power if our little student six changeling can do similar feats
yep, by bringing the heavy fountain temporarily in Uprooted. The main question would be how much energy it costs for the changeling to transform into bigger creatures and use that level of strength.

>when she mentioned that meal was the best in a long time and she had done that entire journey in what is supposed to be a weakened state compared to her feeding on Cadence's love for Shining... The only problem with this is that was she so powerful and competent in this episode that it outright conflicts with previous appearances?
probably. Either that or she is hungry but keeps enough strength just to avoid her own disintegration. Power level discussions always lead to confusions and these kind of plotholes, depending on the writers´ coffee they take while they are writing the episodes.

>Her character was handled perfectly here and I do mean it. Her refusal and continued reminding of everypony she was a queen. Her banter, her causal use of her power to mock Twilight Sparkle. This is more important than any magical feat in quality from an objective messure. It felt like she was perfectly utilized fully on all fronts in a way I almost can't believe. This was a breakout performance for her.
this is why I consider this episode as some form of fanservice. All what you are describing is almost the same that happened to my view about Celestia when she got to shine in the last two seasons.
All those character traits came from her, no changelings nor mean ponies to help her, just her own mind and vision about what she wants to do by herself. That banter makes her a rounder character than all her previous appearances. Besides her acting as a villain getting obsessed with taking all the power, what exactly defined her?

Her development is reminding me a lot of Trixie (and Kathleen Barr is the same VA for both characters ironically enough): she acts like an usual villain in her debut, the 2nd appearance gets to have a revenge and from the 3rd episode onwards, you notice what she actually thinks in her ordinary actions. We noticed that she was getting a psycho mentality because of her loneliness and now, we get all of this.

I will add to your words this single moment when she felt all her failures and the sense of accomplishing nothing for herself. Without her magic, she has realized about her true weakness hidden in constant denial. She didn´t manage to get these feeling in the season 6 finale but she had to feel powerless just to point out her mistakes that she made in the past.


Anon 05/20/2019 (Mon) 23:37:18 [Preview] No.4130 del
>>4125

>This may come as a surprise to y'all but I have never really given who my favorite villain character was much thought.
I didn´t give them much thought either. Mostly because over time, the show shines in character interactions. Villains are cool and all for getting epic moments by causing a contrast but what sells here more is about what the characters offer on their own. You give these thoughts because we have had a chance to see them doing something different from their theoretical role they should have. Only Grogar is the most typical villain in comparison to these three.

This same happened with Trixie. Lots of fans loved her from the start but didn´t know how to justify her character. Until No Second Prances, some fans didn´t understand her hype at all.
Same here with Tirek, Cozy Glow and especially Chrysalis, there is another layer in their personalities that add grey stuff to their actions instead of doing awful actions all the time, so they gain a different appreciation other than the one stuck with them.

>>4126
>I'd have to be utterly insane to if I did?
it was a rhetorical condition. I had watched the poll from /mlp/ before typing my post and the majority gave it a 10.

>both of those episodes character brought new and cool stuff to the table.
that´s the thing. Despite that mixed reaction from you (I have met more anons who share that same view), I see it as the point where the writers managed to experiment and apply all those previous efforts to characters that weren´t as recognizable as the mane 6/CMC. They succeeded and kept going....until this happened. It was a logical step to take but still, one doesn´t know what to expect from this show.

>This episode was amazing. That's all I can say.
Amen

>There is so much to talk about and... I have far more to say, now its getting late but ya can count me on the hype train for sure.
that´s a good thing and it certainly brings hope for what´s left this season and the special. The writers haven´t become lazy and they are proving to take new paths about the characters at this late point of the show.I have yet to find an awful episode yet despite that negative reaction about Uprooted from a lot of fans.

>God bless, goodnight live long and prosper, happy early christmas and...BRING ON THE SEASON!
Happy early Christmas for this spring. Now, I am waiting for the ones with the swimsuit on (the special) and the Halloween Heart´s Warming finale.

Those should be good.


Anon 05/20/2019 (Mon) 23:57:31 [Preview] No.4131 del
>>4127
>>4128
>are you me? I had no expectations save going into the streaming site and click on it. I prefer not to think about the episodes beforehand.
Sometimes I'm you for sure. I don't like to judge an episode before it airs. Sometimes though I will think on and speculate, this one however wasn't one of those times other than the most base curiosity with slight reservations.

> the best part is that despite dedicating time to the villains, it felt like an episode that you would get from the mane 6. The core spirit of the show was here all the time and this might be the reason this episode has beaten all our expectations.
Like the song! I can't believe I forgot to mention the song! Yeah, it certainly was great.

>hrysalis was an archetype of a villain but didn´t gave her much backstory save her desire for the power. It´s in episodes like this, in a slice of life episode, you slowly get to notice her reactions and her inner thoughts
I agree with you here more than with Celestia. That's basically all she was, an archetype. This is the most I've been drawn to her personally. She had a personality here

>you could notice that they were minor villains in comparison to Grogar. However, Grogar´s orb might have revealed him that they had found the bell and makes you wonder
>I still believe that Grogar could have made it by himself and just put these three into a challenge, just to test them. He´s reserving his own energy for future events that will require all of its power.
That is something I did think about afterwards. It seems like it make a bit more since. The shield even almost looked like his magic.

>it was obvious but it needed that exposure. Being more subtle could lead to a couple of posters not getting it and start an argument about plotholes.
It's stupid to waste time over tiny stuff. Like those "younger" doomfags. Than again, perhaps I do read into tiny background stuff a lot...

>yeah, it´s almost like the writers know their audience, let alone if there are teenagers watching it instead of kids....
Exactly.

>yeah. It´s the most likely route to take. I wonder if Chrysalis is going to have the transformation and how she is going to look like whenever she feels that friendship for real.
Make her pink and Cadence like for irony over normal reindeer puke green that a lot of the changelings have.

>The moral would turn out to be that you can feel good about yourself by helping others to feel good, so that healthy practice becomes as something good of your own and get that fulfillment from the inside. They have rejected it because of pride and cut it halfway there but we can tell where this is going.
That is gonna be a moral or close to it with these regardless of plot content of the final.


Anon 05/21/2019 (Tue) 01:10:06 [Preview] No.4132 del
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>>4129
>I should have read this better before typing these lines. That moment also works for a comedy effect. Menacing scary creature appears and the protagonists just laughs at its appearance in their own way. This isn´t new at all. Rarity did the same with the Everfree Forest in It isn´t the Mane Thing About You, she showed that madness to not only her friends but to all the ones that surrounded her, including the creatures hidden in the forest, meaning that the ponies just no longer care about them.
This is indeed true. I was thinking from a utilitarian standpoint of obstacles and progression over from the simple fact that it could serve that comedic purpose for its own end.

> (well, they aren´t good will characters but when villains take the lead role, they usually appear with a handicap).
>But indeed, Chrysalis has shown to be really competent and I will say that she has more common sense in her plans than in A Canterlot Wedding. Her big headed mentality disappeared as soon as she almost got injured by the wind.
This still applies though. She was good, almost too good for her compared other appearances.

>yep, by bringing the heavy fountain temporarily in Uprooted. The main question would be how much energy it costs for the changeling to transform into bigger creatures and use that level of strength.
Whatever Ocellus could do it would be completely reasonable to expect Chrysalis to be a least a few steps above. Speaking on power though...

>Power level discussions always lead to confusions and these kind of plotholes, depending on the writers´ coffee they take while they are writing the episodes.
Power level does matter in the show, sort of... This season , where I wonder if they keep mentioning Grogar's great power is a set up with Discord of some sort... perhaps a death even It take me awhile to explain my thoughts on power levels and nurfing (which I may do in awhile), but let me just say that power does not result in good characters and I think there is a different dynamic at play.

>I will add to your words this single moment when she felt all her failures and the sense of accomplishing nothing for herself. Without her magic, she has realized about her true weakness hidden in constant denial.
That was a pretty powerful moment. Their was a tiny part of me wondering if they'd go some darker route even if I had detected where I thought they go with the teamwork angle.


Anon 05/21/2019 (Tue) 01:31:16 [Preview] No.4133 del
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>>4130
>I didn´t give them much thought either. Mostly because over time, the show shines in character interactions. Villains are cool and all for getting epic moments by causing a contrast but what sells here more is about what the characters offer on their own.
That's a good point.

>This same happened with Trixie. Lots of fans loved her from the start but didn´t know how to justify her character. Until No Second Prances, some fans didn´t understand her hype at all.
Trixie was part of that whole process of the background ponies with a lot of it drawn on her just having a good design plus assumptions, only with here we had more to work with. Plus she was the show's second villain. Indeed she has evolved.

>it was a rhetorical condition. I had watched the poll from /mlp/ before typing my post and the majority gave it a 10.
Take that nieghsayers!

>They succeeded and kept going....until this happened. It was a logical step to take but still, one doesn´t know what to expect from this show.
I hope there is one more episode at least involving them before the final.

>that´s a good thing and it certainly brings hope for what´s left this season and the special. The writers haven´t become lazy and they are proving to take new paths about the characters at this late point of the show.I have yet to find an awful episode yet despite that negative reaction about Uprooted from a lot of fans.
I have a bit more reservations than you. But other than Uprooted and some elements of the opener, this season has been much better for me than last so far.

>Halloween Heart´s Warming finale.
Is there going to be another heart's warming eve special?


Anon 05/21/2019 (Tue) 01:47:07 [Preview] No.4134 del
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Current thoughts on Season

Since we are a 3rd of th way till the end, I feel like I need to make another post. This season so far has been good, dear I say great. I have only one episode I didn't like so far and the highs have been much higher than of the previous season. My main reservation and continuing concern being how are they going to handle the closure of various plots and threadpoints? Still so many unanswered questions and something has to give? I feel like some episodes could be crammed if they try it and we get a checklist of fansvice over plot. Episode 8 however has increased my confidence in this season. I think there could be more gold like this and Discord's role in the opener. Though I was never a pessimist with this season, I will officially change my mood from cautious but curious too cautiously optimistic.

I do wonder how they will wrap up the Student 6, Twilight taking over as princess, and the speculation of villains taking the center stage all in one final. Unless they split one of those things into another episode.


Anon 06/01/2019 (Sat) 06:22:33 [Preview] No.4187 del
Sweet and Smokey episode review.

It was decent. I didn't love it but I think I like it well enough. Only critique I can think of is that I think this episode could have been done without fluttershy and some more time devoted to the A plot. This is a very minor one though. I think Fluttershy was alright enough here. She wasn't useless, just perhaps unneeded. Sometimes I like it when there is an A plot and a B plot,and I like it here sans that one minor issue. The lesson wasn't new or interesting but not bad at all. I suppose how it fit with the dragon eggs was a little odd, but this is a world of talking ponies and magical dragons.

Overall, I like it 7/10. It's not a fav but its far from dislike.

Other notes:
1:They actually mentioned a long time frame this time to travel (one week). I liked it how they didn't spend too much time with them going too the dragon lands and just showed them there as opposed to talking so much time lallygagging around taking one 3rd of the episode going to different locations across the know world just for set up too. It's almost odd though for the show to not be under quick travel logic, especially with these last couple of seasons so far.
2: Move over Rarijack, Apple Dash named dropped this episode!
3: Garble manages to have one final appearance in the show. Good for him. One thing I want to look back at this season and see who managed to make one last appearance or semi-important roll. Because, let's face it, not all are going to make the cut though if we have a repeat of Slice of Life it may come close.


Anon 06/01/2019 (Sat) 06:36:18 [Preview] No.4188 del
Also, man there sure was a lot of Fluttershy being a real close up focus this episode in shots. I originally was baffled by this by I think it was do to there being no other pony than Fluttershy there and Fluttershy would just often be standing alone with only a much taller dragon standing opposite of her. Still, I'll have to check and see if such has happened in other episodes, because this still felt a little excessive. Maybe it's just me. Hey, it's nice for reaction images!


Anon 06/08/2019 (Sat) 06:24:42 [Preview] No.4220 del
Going to Seed.

This episode I really like. The setting was real cozy. I liked the Great Seedling plot and how it slowly escalated in a normal not overdone way. The setting was cozy. Being entirely on Sweet Apple Acres was fun, especially with no quick travel to any location. They didn't detour to them going to get Golden Delicious, just had her show up. Heck, even the flash back was on Sweet Apple Acres. All the characters sans Granny Smith shined here. Not saying Granny Smith was bad, just that she was more playing support and didn't do much beyond what she'd normally do in any other episode she was in. Apple Jack's dynamic with Apple Bloom being the strongest character performance. The rest just fit in. Golden Delicious telling Apple Bloom of the great seeding and urging her on. Big Macintosh slowly having more work put on him and being tired and grumpy till you find out that he is the one causing the attics in the first place. Granny wasn't bad, just she didn't have a roll to play lke that.


Overall, I really like, dare I say possibly love, this episode. 8/10. This feels like another Sleepless in Ponyville. If perhaps at a slightly lower tier. Though I won't be surprised if the this ends up being one of my favorites when the season is done.

Other notes:
1) Are deer now Equestria's main creature of myserious benevolent magic? Is it all because they lowered Again, my views on the Princess' are very complex, but that is for another time stature in that regard and had other fantastical elements explored and removed of their mysteries and ambiguity? (Like the return of the pillars?)
2)That flashback that shows Apple Jack, Apple Bloom and Big Macintosh with their parents has a bit of a dark edge to it, doesn't it? I do not know how other flashbacks connect (or if they contradict), but considering the flashbacks with AB still a baby and Big Mac and Apple Jack only a little bit older... it could very well be close to when they died.
3)Golden Delicious. Of all the Apple Family to have one last major roll. This could be the last episode featuring them (or at least solely staring them). Are we ever going to see Babs Seed again? Ever explore Aunt and Uncle Orange and what their dynamic is with their country oriented family? or even give Braeburn one last speaking roll cameo? Don't know, but I know we got Golden Delicious...


Anon 06/13/2019 (Thu) 03:19:54 [Preview] No.4247 del
Here comes my thoughts at Student Counsel .

This one felt... IDK. On paper there is a lot for me to love. Small scale threat, local setting, a /comfy/ feel, etc. But something just feels off with this one. Not strong enough for me to call it bad, but I have a hesitance of giving it a positive rating. One of these criticisms is very clear cut and obvious for me: the moral of this episode doesn't feel fitting of the scenario. Establishing the whole student console thing and then having them run off into the forest. I feel like it could perhaps be written to better facilitate these two plots. In this episode it felt like they were setting up a Slice of Life then glued it to some other episode with an adventure plot. Dolores's hectic schedule, the brief flash of sadness on Silverstream's face, it felt like a set up for a different episode and didn't fit well with the second half. This is not 100& a negative mark, especially if it delivers some fun, but it is something that does cause me to view it less favorably. Though, this is not the only factor. The second half I did enjoy, but there was something there that felt off. I don't know how to put it. It highlighted a contrast for me between it and the earlier episodes but I do not have the words to describe it. It will take some examination on my part to see what it is and if it isn't some oldfag logic arising in me or something worthy to criticize. So I will exclude the second offness from my final rating. If it is true I may lower the rating, yet overall, despite this offness, there was some fun to be had. My, Maud's search party joke made me burst out laughing. I enjoyed her and her Y-7 level suggestive joking with her boyfriend. It was nice to see Cockatrices again and it'd be interesting to see or at least have a mention of how Silverstream's project went.

Overall rating: 7/10 with some hesitance.

Other stuff:
1) Maud's search party joke 10/10
2) So... the everfree is a threat again? At least briefly.
3) Ocellus and identity issues. Though it was more of a joke, it could be interesting to look at if it doesn't go into an awkward racial identity strongly or gender identity analogies at all. But as changeling specific issues regarding disassociation and confusion and a desire to in be among different species she hangs out with and even animals and objects it could make an interesting episode in itself.


Anon 06/14/2019 (Fri) 22:08:44 [Preview] No.4255 del
so, I am finally replying for this thread again. I have watched Going to Seed and Student Counsel this afternoon while I should give Sweet and Smoky another try (well, in general, one should watch the eps twice in order to review them properly). But I am limiting myself to reply to your posts and add a few aspects and/or answers to your reviews.

Sweet and Smoky >>4187

>I didn't love it but I think I like it well enough.
considering that this ep was written by the same one who wrote Non Compete Clause, that´s a big accomplishment.
>Only critique I can think of is that I think this episode could have been done without fluttershy and some more time devoted to the A plot.
Even if this complaint is minor, I think that the plot device makes sense and in a way, it should be expected. Fluttershy is the most useful character for introducing and getting to know different species at their core. It may have not happened in the show until now but Hasbro published The Island of Dragons (a non canon visual book released around 2015/16 (?), which also consisted in warming up eggs of the dragons) and Fluttershy Balances the Scales (which takes place in the surroundings of Seaquestria).

Why am I saying all of this? Just to tell that Fluttershy serves for these plot devices amazingly well,as if these situations were natural from the very beginning.

>I think Fluttershy was alright enough here. She wasn't useless, just perhaps unneeded. Sometimes I like it when there is an A plot and a B plot,and I like it here sans that one minor issue.
while you are classifying the episode with two subplots, your vision clashes a bit with the episode itself mostly because they get combined right at the middle of it. It doesn´t look as obvious as the Crystalling for example, which the episode tells clearly the two simultaneous resolutions.

>The lesson wasn't new or interesting but not bad at all. I suppose how it fit with the dragon eggs was a little odd, but this is a world of talking ponies and magical dragons.
taking into account that Dragons were intended to imitate the cool guys from the 90s, this message challenges the first premise in which they were designed from their creators. Episode aside, I believe that I will have to change a little bit my take on Garble in a certain fic, considering that he cannot keep the intimidating image all the time.

>I like it 7/10. It's not a fav but its far from dislike.
fair rating. Not a greatest of all time but I must say the Dragonlands doesn´t feel as an alien place to visit for ponies. It explored a bit their lore, their daily attitudes/interactions (not as unknown as the Legion of Doom but halfway there) and it managed to bring a sense of familiarity in an infamous place before season 6 happened.

I cannot complain about it honestly, much less taking into account its writer (we don´t have another Neal Dusedau here fortunately)


Anon 06/14/2019 (Fri) 22:49:37 [Preview] No.4256 del
>>4187
>They actually mentioned a long time frame this time to travel (one week). I liked it how they didn't spend too much time with them going too the dragon lands and just showed them there as opposed to talking so much time lallygagging around taking one 3rd of the episode
yeah, I cannot imagine how different the episode would have been if they followed that path of said quest. We would get another MLP Movie but with much less time and a rushed plot. Direct to the grain, less new background and focusing on the dragons during all the episode.

>almost odd though for the show to not be under quick travel logic
yeah a little bit strange. Maybe the trip to the Dragonlands wasn´t one week but the entire stay that Smolder would need in order to communicate with her brother properly. But yeah, it sounds weird considering that changelings or even Terramar in the latest episode has managed to visit Ponyville in a pretty short time (and it makes less sense considering the needed signatures of Uprooted with the students visiting their own homelands).

>Move over Rarijack, Apple Dash named dropped this episode!
shipfags BTFO!An Asleigh Ball character is combined with another one from her. Double win for the VA, she must love herself.

>Garble manages to have one final appearance in the show. Good for him.
yeah, we talked about Snails being useless and an idiot in the first seasons but with a 2nd chance, he was assigned to have a different role that would fit him and see another layer of his character, changing our opinions about him. More or less this happens with Garble so he doesn´t stay as one dimensional as he was written at first.

>One thing I want to look back at this season and see who managed to make one last appearance or semi-important roll. Because, let's face it, not all are going to make the cut though if we have a repeat of Slice of Life it may come close.
I think 90% of them are going to come back. The world is so open to anyone (now with the students into account) that it would turn out to be a foolish move to forget about them. Except the buffaloes and the diamond dogs, I think that almost all the cast will appear.

>>4188
>I originally was baffled by this by I think it was do to there being no other pony than Fluttershy there and Fluttershy would just often be standing alone with only a much taller dragon standing opposite of her.
>because this still felt a little excessive.
you have a good point. This is Fluttershy who we are talking about,right?!, the pony who was truly scared about dragons and acted like this just to avoid seeing them:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=knzkBD2_H5k [Embed]

now,she has faced Garble eye to eye to say to him a few words about his convictions relentlessly.The assertive episodes paid off long ago but we have another example just in case anyone forgot about her development. No pony else to help her, she stood there and saw the situation as anything else, without struggling during the conflict. Again, this is a natural step for her considering that she is familiar with the previously feared Everfree Forest and knows that Spike and Ember are dragons of trust. Her confidence has escalated progressively and these circumstances have completed her final steps at maturing and handling these situations as if those fears never existed. I do want to note that Ember has changed a lot the dynamic of their society so the dragons are less rude and a little bit community in comparison to their previous leadership. I suppose that their values clash a little bit less these days because of her so that face to face between Garble and Fluttershy would get resolved in a "ponified" way (basically being more talkative and personal about their problems, not to mention that Garble has shown signs of going into an artistic direction in his private time).

Either way I am taking off my hat lady for such achievement.

>Hey, it's nice for reaction images!
cute and badass, you cannot ask for anything else.


Anon 06/14/2019 (Fri) 23:15:44 [Preview] No.4257 del
Next,Going to Seed, Episode 10

>>4220
>This episode I really like. The setting was real cozy. I liked the Great Seedling plot and how it slowly escalated in a normal not overdone way.
as usual, AJ episode about her family are less interesting from the start because we know all their values. However, they have managed to lead this situation into a sisterly moment that recalls earlier seasons. I must say that they have achieved to write AJ in a more relatable way, leaving her rural aspects aside and letting an universal message to shine.

>Being entirely on Sweet Apple Acres was fun, especially with no quick travel to any location. They didn't detour to them going to get Golden Delicious, just had her show up. Heck, even the flash back was on Sweet Apple Acres. All the characters sans Granny Smith shined here.
it feels weird that we have had only one location all the time without relying on Ponyville at all, something that not even season 1 managed to do with fewer places. In contrast to the open world that we have seen in these seasons, it shows that episodes can work effectively without moving somewhere else, the characters are what actually matter in the end. I like how these episodes only rely on the necessary ingredients just to carry the entire plot/idea. Only the Apple Family in Sweet Apple Acres? Why not?

>Not saying Granny Smith was bad, just that she was more playing support and didn't do much beyond what she'd normally do in any other episode she was in.
agreed, she helped to recover AJ´s childish illusions and encouraged her subtly to have fun while working on the farm.

>Granny wasn't bad, just she didn't have a roll to play lke that.
which shows that having more characters doesn´t mean that they are going to be that important. They were five and as you say
>Apple Jack's dynamic with Apple Bloom being the strongest character performance. The rest just fit in. Golden Delicious telling Apple Bloom of the great seeding and urging her on. Big Macintosh slowly having more work put on him and being tired and grumpy till you find out that he is the one causing the attics in the first place.
all of them set up the "conflict" (including the Great Seedling), put their little grain and freshen the interactions between the protagonists.

>I really like, dare I say possibly love, this episode. 8/10. This feels like another Sleepless in Ponyville.
>I won't be surprised if the this ends up being one of my favorites when the season is done.
it´s a charming episode indeed and quite possibly a silent grower. I only watched it once and while I don´t have a strong connection with it because of the lack of a 2nd try, I haven´t had a moment in which I felt uncomfortable watching it. It´s possibly the prejudices towards the Apple family but sometimes less is more.

I am not sure about my rating about it but it´s at least a 7/10. There are no episodes that feel wrong here and I am impressed about the consistency of quality exposed in general for this season.

All the characters did their own part, the setup was simple yet effective, we´ve got AJ interacting like a child and we´ve got a simple message: illusions never age and everyone is hyped towards their biggest dreams. This reaffirms the line of adults being grown up kids. I will probably rate this higher because of how useful was AJ for such a timeless moral like this and not having the handicap of her countryside attitude that has lacked the attraction for little girls.


Anon 06/14/2019 (Fri) 23:35:26 [Preview] No.4258 del
>>4220
>Are deer now Equestria's main creature of myserious benevolent magic? Is it all because they lowered?
I don´t know how to answer this but...
>had other fantastical elements explored and removed of their mysteries and ambiguity? (Like the return of the pillars?)
maybe this creature could appear again but in the present timeline. I have had the thoughts that MLP was looking like Pokemon and its design draws comparisons with Sawsbuck or even Xerneas all over again. A big plot twist would have been that Thorax could disguise himself as the Great Seedling and he wouldn´t need to do a big effort at transforming into it, taking into account how awfully similar they are.

Deers have appeared in the Best Gift Ever and they have actually shown less fantastical elements from their lore and put those benevolent actions into the front. As old stories are usually told, they are more legendary in their narrative than having said "mystical" creatures in action.

>That flashback that shows Apple Jack, Apple Bloom and Big Macintosh with their parents has a bit of a dark edge to it, doesn't it?
>it could very well be close to when they died.
this can lead to such arbitrary interpretations that you don´t know where to start. One could write a few fics about this but something tells me that AJ parents´mystery isn´t all that solved as we like to imagine. However, you´ve got a point that they subtly playing with the territory of death or more nostalgic times for the family in comparison to what happened later. This franchise shines at its best when the backstories/lore are shown in little quantities and we will need an absolute closure to know everything before and after their Romeo and Juliet story.

>Golden Delicious. Of all the Apple Family to have one last major roll. This could be the last episode featuring them (or at least solely staring them).
eeyup, Pinkie Apple Pie. A lot of time has passed since then.

>Are we ever going to see Babs Seed again?
I....highly doubt it despite seeing Lightning Dust in season 8. I don´t know if all the minor characters will have a proper plot device to reintroduce them one last time. As for now, they are doing it pretty well so far though.
>or even give Braeburn one last speaking roll cameo? Don't know, but I know we got Golden Delicious...
Braeburn sure but yeah, I suppose that Golden Delicious served as another support along with Granny Smith just to wind up the Seedling´s tale.


Anon 06/15/2019 (Sat) 00:07:05 [Preview] No.4259 del
And lastly, Student Countsel

>>4247
>On paper there is a lot for me to love. Small scale threat, local setting, a /comfy/ feel, etc. But something just feels off with this one. Not strong enough for me to call it bad, but I have a hesitance of giving it a positive rating.
I haven´t had that strange feeling. I ended up enjoying this one the most. You probably have that thorn in your side because of its biggest aspects: it compiles lots of previous ingredients into a one way episode. It brings up the cockatrices again, Dolores´s quartet, Mud Briar and Terramar for a single plot device by also using the school and the Castle of the Two Sisters. An episode that is supposed to emulate Uncommon Bond,Stare Master,Once Upon A Zeppelin and The End in Friend for a different purpose. It brings nothing new on the table by its little separate pieces but it achieves to find a new dynamic with all of them jointed together.


>One of these criticisms is very clear cut and obvious for me: the moral of this episode doesn't feel fitting of the scenario. Establishing the whole student console thing and then having them run off into the forest.
them running into the forest is a consequence of such worries from her creator. It doesn´t help that Silverstream didn´t think about telling to her family that she was focusing on her project instead. The whole conflict was created just to show that Dolores should find by herself a balance between dealing with her job and having free time with her friends. If you want to have a comparison, this kind of reminds me of Once Upon A Zeppelin,seeing Twilight working all the time and not getting enough time to spend with her family. It´s not so obvious (maybe I am projecting) because of the circumstances but I can see where the message was aimed at.

>it felt like they were setting up a Slice of Life then glued it to some other episode with an adventure plot. Dolores's hectic schedule, the brief flash of sadness on Silverstream's face, it felt like a set up for a different episode and didn't fit well with the second half. This is not 100& a negative mark, especially if it delivers some fun, but it is something that does cause me to view it less favorably.
they set up that adventure mode because of the lack of communication/information and extreme panic towards the situation, translating it as Dolores´s guilt for its resolution. This also happened with the Point of No Return, a fragile in which this plot could have not occurred because of little details in its first part.


Anon 06/15/2019 (Sat) 00:18:42 [Preview] No.4260 del
>>4247
>second half I did enjoy, but there was something there that felt off
>I do not have the words to describe it. It will take some examination on my part
>So I will exclude the second offness from my final rating.
well, let´s see if you can find it but I didn´t find it all that bothersome. The End in Friend also brought an adventure just to see the interactions between the characters. It just happens that there are so many in such little time that all it draws is a collage of different parts united for one single bigger picture: Silverstream. How are Mud Briar Terramar supposed to interact considering that they were one hit wonders before this episode along with the other four? I think no fan expected to have this combination and unlike Going to Seed, this one proves the capability of the wider connections and possibilities that were established before in the show, wildly different from each other.Not only those two but they have managed to find an excuse to use a background pony like Roseluck for the plot.

>Maud's search party joke made me burst out laughing. I enjoyed her and her Y-7 level suggestive joking with her boyfriend. It was nice to see Cockatrices again and it'd be interesting to see or at least have a mention of how Silverstream's project went.
yeah and I must also add to your commentary that Mud Briar is the purest form of Jim Parsons ponified. If only they got his actor to voice him,MLP would carry the spirit of Big Bang Theory in Equestria.

>the everfree is a threat again? At least briefly.
handle that with a pinch of salt. Silverstream has managed to train and study one of them. Sure they are menacing but little by little,we are getting to understand how they work.

>Ocellus and identity issues. Though it was more of a joke, it could be interesting to look at if it doesn't go into an awkward racial identity strongly or gender identity analogies at all.
/pol/ in action! Guaranteed replies in 3,2,1....

> as changeling specific issues regarding disassociation and confusion and a desire to in be among different species she hangs out with and even animals and objects it could make an interesting episode in itself.
yeah and it could be treated as one flaw of the transformation. Maybe Thorax advised her to stay in her own form not only because of her actual identity but now with this line, it could be taken as a healthy issue for such ability.


Anon 06/15/2019 (Sat) 00:21:53 [Preview] No.4261 del
I haven´t replied to your replies that were written before the reviews but better late than never, I have commented about your views tonight and added another layer to them.

For now,this is it for me tonight.


Anon 06/15/2019 (Sat) 07:38:23 [Preview] No.4262 del
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>>4255
>Why am I saying all of this? Just to tell that Fluttershy serves for these plot devices amazingly well,as if these situations were natural from the very beginning.
>while you are classifying the episode with two subplots, your vision clashes a bit with the episode itself mostly because they get combined right at the middle of it. It doesn´t look as obvious as the Crystalling for example, which the episode tells clearly the two simultaneous resolutions.
Watched again, I think I agree with you. Doesn't change my rating because 7 for me is a satisfactory but isn't above the normal level.

>>4256
>yeah a little bit strange. Maybe the trip to the Dragonlands wasn´t one week but the entire stay that Smolder would need in order to communicate with her brother properly. But yeah, it sounds weird considering that changelings or even Terramar in the latest episode has managed to visit Ponyville in a pretty short time (and it makes less sense considering the needed signatures of Uprooted with the students visiting their own homelands).
It's the opposite mentality. Especially with how things work now a days. It almost reminds me of the time when they were on the way to Canterlot overnight. If I can get my act together enough, it'd be interesting to study and see how quick travle applies over the seasons.

>shipfags BTFO!An Asleigh Ball character is combined with another one from her. Double win for the VA, she must love herself.
Reckon it was throwing shade at the EqD crew?
https://www.equestriadaily.com/2019/05/internally-rarijack-was-totally-thing.html

>>4257
>as usual, AJ episode about her family are less interesting from the start because we know all their values.
>while I don´t have a strong connection with it because of the lack of a 2nd try, I haven´t had a moment in which I felt uncomfortable watching it. It´s possibly the prejudices towards the Apple family but sometimes less is more.
Not a big fan of the Apple family? Yeah, I think I can get that from a standpoint of them being written kind of blandly . Some episodes I enjoy some I find a little bland. Generally though slightly to moderately bland is usually inoffensive to me but I understand stronger dislike. I mean I didn't like Uprooted after all for partly that though I thought it was also quite structurally flawed.

>AJ in a more relatable way, leaving her rural aspects aside and letting an universal message to shine.
I don't think it's the rural aspect in itself as much as it is bad writing. Think of it, Rarity was written to be stereotype rich pretty sassy lady of culture and she was given the element of generosity. Her expanding career ambitions have been often in conflict with her element and her role. There also has been side conflicts with obligations, social standing and secondary issues that aren't just that core gimmick. Apple Jack is written as a typical American rural stereotype, which is often just a vague mix of Texas, the south and Nashville country music with little distinction. She is played completely straight most of the time, sometimes having good moments. The rest of the Apple Family to varying degrees can also feel like hollow shells of this same thing. It's played completely straight. There isn't contrast or culture. Sweet Apple Acres is sometimes a source of conflict, but it certainly hasn't in the way of Raity's business. It hasn't grown, hasn't had many containing plot threads, or even been used to its full potential. It's just a set piece most of the time. You could improve it by either drawing deeper than the typical rural sterotype in culture and base in source for plot (How about drawing on some Cowboy and farming lore as a source of plot?) or, something I'd be think be easily done even with the same bland slate, have a little bit of contrast beyond the template of them being cookie cutter rural cowboy folk. Some character traits beyond it that are emphasized. Than you could go somewhere.

>>4258
>A big plot twist would have been that Thorax could disguise himself as the Great Seedling and he


Anon 06/15/2019 (Sat) 07:42:15 [Preview] No.4263 del
>>4262
>wouldn´t need to do a big effort at transforming into it, taking into account how awfully similar they are.
Now that'd could be kind of fun. Wouldn't it be cool to have him moonlighting as that. Hmmmmmmm... Perhaps you could even have a plot point of various changeling getting jobs playing different creatures for the fun of foals or for plays.

>Deers have appeared in the Best Gift Ever and they have actually shown less fantastical elements from their lore and put those benevolent actions into the front. As old stories are usually told, they are more legendary in their narrative than having said "mystical" creatures in action.
Yeah. That is true. Hold on... I'm gonna have to check some episodes before I get fully back to ya on this one. I have something of a point to make but I want to make sure it is a full observation that makes sense.

>>4259
>I ended up enjoying this one the most.
And I should of. All the ingredients are there...

>them running into the forest is a consequence of such worries from her creator. It doesn´t help that Silverstream didn´t think about telling to her family that she was focusing on her project instead. The whole conflict was created just to show that Dolores should find by herself a balance between dealing with her job and having free time with her friends.
That's what the message was used for. But for me (on my first viewing, I got interrupted on my second and only got halfway through) the ingredients don't flow as organically to that plot point. Perhaps as you say-

>it compiles lots of previous ingredients into a one way episode. It brings up the cockatrices again, Dolores´s quartet, Mud Briar and Terramar for a single plot device by also using the school and the Castle of the Two Sisters. An episode that is supposed to emulate Uncommon Bond,Stare Master,Once Upon A Zeppelin and The End in Friend for a different purpose.
the reason it feels jumbled to me is because of this fact of all it was trying to do at once. It would actual still go with my point of things feeling meshed together from slice of life and action. I don't think that itself is bad. Often Slice of Life episodes have had action climaxes. For my first viewing at and a half, this episode just felt a little out of left field for me.

>>4260
>well, let´s see if you can find it but I didn´t find it all that bothersome.
And you shouldn't. For me it was a intangible feeling below, and one that I cannot hold against its quality untill I understand for it.

>I think no fan expected to have this combination and unlike Going to Seed, this one proves the capability of the wider connections and possibilities that were established before in the show, wildly different from each other.Not only those two but they have managed to find an excuse to use a background pony like Roseluck for the plot.
I will certainly be giving this episode another chance well, chance maybe a strong word considering my rating sits at 7/10 It will require me to watch again (and maybe again) and rewatching a few older episodes to gain a feel. (So maybe a prefect project for the mid season hiatus). Because, even still, there was a fair bit of things I liked quite a lot.


Anon 06/15/2019 (Sat) 07:46:51 [Preview] No.4264 del
>>4261
Glad ta see ya in the thread No pressure in your other replies, take your time. Goodnight /endpone


Anon 06/15/2019 (Sat) 07:49:15 [Preview] No.4265 del
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>>4264
Did pink text again!


Anon 06/15/2019 (Sat) 13:46:24 [Preview] No.4266 del
>>4262
>I think I agree with you. Doesn't change my rating because 7 for me is a satisfactory but isn't above the normal level.
yeah, well the rating didn´t bother but more like that subplot complaint. There is not much to say about this save maybe pointing out the interactions between dragons and how they have changed over time. However, I have stronger topic to talk about later...

>It almost reminds me of the time when they were on the way to Canterlot overnight.
MMMystery of the Friendship Express. An entire day for traveling to Canterlot yet we see from season 4 onwards that they arrive in little to no time between Ponyville and Canterlot.

>it'd be interesting to study and see how quick travle applies over the seasons.
you can become crazy by figuring out how they work. I wouldn´t take the exceptions too much into account because they would mess up all the speculations that you could make with the patterns.

>Reckon it was throwing shade at the EqD crew?
nothing personnel kid, just answering with the show to the other team. And yes, they made that ship canon in EQG and I wonder if they knew both scripts while writing this material.

>Generally though slightly to moderately bland is usually inoffensive to me but I understand stronger dislike. I mean I didn't like Uprooted after all for partly that though I thought it was also quite structurally flawed.
well, Uprooted has a different case than the Apple Family. I simply defended Uprooted because I didn´t see all the attempts at disliking it at all and the more I tried to see those flaws, the more I failed to see them. I don´t blame you for not enjoying it as much and I can see why you have that complaint because the pacing is somewhat considering that there are 6 characters that have to shine at dealing with the same problem in their own way.

About the picture, I agree with the artist. I´ve heard somewhere that there is a cliché of reforming characters and becoming weak when they get to be the protagonists. I would even put a stronger bet into the table and say that Trixie has become more powerful at handling magic and Luna, while still slightly less powerful than Celestia, she is put with her sister in the same level of power and has learned how to put in practice more advanced 4d chess tactics that her sisters´. That picture needs Discord though because he has managed to stop Sombra´s magic without blinking.


Anon 06/15/2019 (Sat) 14:28:17 [Preview] No.4267 del
>>4263
>Wouldn't it be cool to have him moonlighting as that. Hmmmmmmm... Perhaps you could even have a plot point of various changeling getting jobs playing different creatures for the fun of foals or for plays.
that could work as a pretty good plot device if changeling interacted with ponies more often and give them some childish entertainment. I mostly said that (and not the only who thinks about it) because of the design.

>I'm gonna have to check some episodes before I get fully back to ya on this one. I have something of a point to make but I want to make sure it is a full observation that makes sense.
alright, fair enough. Take your time for that comment.

>All the ingredients are there...
considering that back when I explained Uprooted and you felt like you would have the ingredients but in the end you couldn´t see it, it´s not extraordinary not to feel a strong connection towards the episode. I felt like that when I watched The Cutie Remark back in 2015: cool scenes, different timelines compiling all the villains and a redemption in it but it felt wrong for me at the time. I might see that finale with better eyes in retrospective but something irked me after watching it.

>That's what the message was used for. But for me (on my first viewing, I got interrupted on my second and only got halfway through) the ingredients don't flow as organically to that plot point.
I should give these episodes a second watch along with the new CMC episode too. And as you say:
>Perhaps as you say-
>the reason it feels jumbled to me is because of this fact of all it was trying to do at once. It would actual still go with my point of things feeling meshed together from slice of life and action. I don't think that itself is bad. Often Slice of Life episodes have had action climaxes. For my first viewing at and a half, this episode just felt a little out of left field for me.
I tried to locate and understand where you got those conclusions and the roots of that disconnection. I get that criticism and one reason that I appreciate it is that it hasn´t come as awkward as in theory it should be.I point at the big cast involved for the conflict that,without making you ask how it happens, serves as an excuse to use them at once. We are not used to seeing half of these characters in action and a couple of them were protagonists in their introductory episodes but here, they work as a group facing a creature like cockatrices.

I have mostly criticized the episode from a writing standpoint and a character like Mud Briar is not as easy to match with other characters as it seems, much less taking into account that his episode was considered a low point (for a reason) for season 8. Tell me an excuse to pair him in a group with Terramar without forcing the situation... the fact that this episode has gained a better reception from /mlp/ (it got 8s as the most common rating) surprises me from a theoretical standpoint.

>it was a intangible feeling below, and one that I cannot hold against its quality untill I understand for it.
well, I hope that my take on it helps to guess where that feeling actually comes from.

>It will require me to watch again (and maybe again) and rewatching a few older episodes to gain a feel. (So maybe a prefect project for the mid season hiatus).
don´t worry,it took me like 4 tries or so to judge Uprooted and if I were to judge older episodes, I would need a couple of tries as well (one for refreshing the material and the other for splitting the analysis and coming up with the general view of it)

>Because, even still, there was a fair bit of things I liked quite a lot.
well, at least it managed to bring a good time. In general, all these episodes still deliver and they make me feel less worried about the rest that are going to come. I still expect a blunder or two just in case I don´t get the disappointment by surprise.


Anon 06/15/2019 (Sat) 14:52:51 [Preview] No.4268 del
>>4264
>Glad ta see ya in the thread No pressure in your other replies, take your time.
yeah, even though I am facing a big topic at the moment that I reserved for last.

I am going for them before I get into the complicated stuff with a certain character...

>>4131
>I don't like to judge an episode before it airs. Sometimes though I will think on and speculate, this one however wasn't one of those times other than the most base curiosity with slight reservations.
yeah, judging episodes by their premise or little clips is a task for the reactionary part of /mlp/ or the old Tumblr. As we have a lot of time for judging them, one should take it easy and stay patient before giving a few thoughts. I am not applying that concept all that well with the latest episodes but I am trying to take everything into account.

>Like the song! I can't believe I forgot to mention the song! Yeah, it certainly was great.
really unique and original. All the EQD comments say that they are reminded by Disney villain songs but this one came up more with the schemes of what we know about MLP rather than anything reminiscent form the Mouse.

>I agree with you here more than with Celestia. That's basically all she was, an archetype. This is the most I've been drawn to her personally. She had a personality here
yeah, she has finally paid off and we are leaving the one dimensional traits aside when it comes to discussing her. It means that it´s quite entertaining to guess why she reacts at X for Y reasons. Adding a layer to a character like her feels really rewarding to watch honestly.I drew the comparisons with Celly mostly because the same satisfactory impressions happened to me while watching that focused SoL material on the sun princess But hold my beer with the following replies...

>The shield even almost looked like his magic.
yeah, almost suspicious isn´t it? If I were to keep an eye onto everything, I would keep in mind this little detail in future episodes/interactions between the Legion of Doom and Grogar. Either that or Gusty shared the same magic that Grogar has.

>It's stupid to waste time over tiny stuff. Like those "younger" doomfags.
doomfags get stale pretty fast. I don´t take those clickbait threads seriously and I gave up on delivering unironic replies of discussion over there (I still do but much less considering that I can expose additional thoughts here without derailing the thread)

>perhaps I do read into tiny background stuff a lot
you do well. MLP has become a little bit challenging when it comes to following every single thing out there. Not truly complex but if you don´t follow it properly, key questions will arise

>Make her pink and Cadence like for irony over normal reindeer puke green that a lot of the changelings have.
phew, you are taking a risky route here. It seems that you want good quantities of drama until the very end. She could look nice though but you know how the fanbase acts in heat

>That is gonna be a moral or close to it with these regardless of plot content of the final.
yeah, it´s mostly an speculation about the content shown solely in this ep. Maybe he next one could drive into another route but as for now, I believe it will take that direction in some form.


Anon 06/15/2019 (Sat) 15:29:36 [Preview] No.4269 del
>>4132
>I was thinking from a utilitarian standpoint of obstacles and progression over from the simple fact that it could serve that comedic purpose for its own end.
it´s mostly that from a writing standpoint. There was nothing else going on for it. One could write a dramatic fanfic about that situation but we all know how MLP avoids at taking itself too seriously.

>She was good, almost too good for her compared other appearances.
well, there you have that layer for her. She has learned about her previous defeats and she wants to face the mane 6 again after warming up completely with herself and now, with the whole legion. The main flaw for her in A Canterlot Wedding was the excess of confidence in her actions and it looks that she is focusing on the problems as they come. She is strong but she is reserving herself to prove that she actually has that amount of power.

>Power level does matter in the show, sort of
it´s not that I deny it. I certainly try to avoid that topic because it´s tricky to deal with it in general.It´s truly inconsistent for the most part and it´s the situational tool for resolving a few plots out there without requiring further explanation.

>let me just say that power does not result in good characters and I think there is a different dynamic at play.
for the good ones is a tool for moving the plot forward and considering the vast different amount of writers contributing in this show, you would have to squeeze your brain to death just to put a serious take of logic with the levels of magic of each character.

>I wonder if they keep mentioning Grogar's great power is a set up with Discord of some sort perhaps a death even
as if the premiere wasn´t almost dramatic enough for him.

>Their was a tiny part of me wondering if they'd go some darker route even if I had detected where I thought they go with the teamwork angle.
this line is important because it could serve as a valid argument for justifying a possible redemption. The fact that they hadn´t betrayed between themselves at that moment and take as you say, a darker route, says a lot and it implies that they cannot reach the pure evil mode all the time. It means that they have cared about themselves and shown a bit of chemistry that wouldn´t share towards others for a moment.

>>4133
>Trixie was part of that whole process of the background ponies with a lot of it drawn on her just having a good design plus assumptions, only with here we had more to work with. Indeed she has evolved.
eeeyup that charm about her actually came later and we are seeing how entertaining she is in the latest episodes without relying too much in her catchphrase that distinguished her back then from the rest.

>Take that nieghsayers!
BTFO. I wonder how they slept during that night.

>I hope there is one more episode at least involving them before the final.
I expect one or two before the finale. They need to provoke the settings before the last big attack happens.

>But other than Uprooted and some elements of the opener, this season has been much better for me than last so far.
and we have avoided Non Compete Clause with Sweet And Smoky so where do I have to sign in order to keep this level of quality?

>Is there going to be another heart's warming eve special?
I meant the Best Gift Ever as an irony for celebrating Christmas in the show,airing on TV in a different period instead of the intended one.

>>4134
>I was never a pessimist with this season, I will officially change my mood from cautious but curious too cautiously optimistic.
this. I share almost all your thoughts in this post and taking into account the latest ones, at least we are getting a pretty nice first half.What else can happen next? I don´t know but we cannot say that MLP has had a season rot here, neither shows any signs of facing one.

>Iwonder how they will wrap up the Student 6,Twilight taking over as princess, and the speculation of villains taking the center stage all in one final
eeyup, if anything the finale is pretty much the material that one should be worried about at this point


Anon 06/15/2019 (Sat) 16:59:33 [Preview] No.4270 del
>>4262
>I don't think it's the rural aspect in itself as much as it is bad writing. Think of it, Rarity was written to be stereotype rich pretty sassy lady of culture and she was given the element of generosity. Her expanding career ambitions have been often in conflict with her element and her role. There also has been side conflicts with obligations, social standing and secondary issues that aren't just that core gimmick. Apple Jack is written as a typical American rural stereotype, which is often just a vague mix of Texas, the south and Nashville country music with little distinction. She is played completely straight most of the time, sometimes having good moments. The rest of the Apple Family to varying degrees can also feel like hollow shells of this same thing. It's played completely straight. There isn't contrast or culture. Sweet Apple Acres is sometimes a source of conflict, but it certainly hasn't in the way of Raity's business. It hasn't grown, hasn't had many containing plot threads, or even been used to its full potential. It's just a set piece most of the time. You could improve it by either drawing deeper than the typical rural sterotype in culture and base in source for plot (How about drawing on some Cowboy and farming lore as a source of plot?) or, something I'd be think be easily done even with the same bland slate, have a little bit of contrast beyond the template of them being cookie cutter rural cowboy folk. Some character traits beyond it that are emphasized. Than you could go somewhere.

all of this text, I will have to make a huge effort to explain why AJ is a different case for me than the rest of the characters.

Unlike the praise that I have had for Trixie, Chrysalis, Celestia or minor characters that ended up shining more with more material about them; there will be time to explain why AJ, and not the rest of the apple family nor the farm itself, leads me to think that she is not all that interesting in the end and fortunately Going to Seed showed a little bit of herself.

Because yes, I am announcing that there will be controversial views about her soon and I will need to explain them properly just to show all the arguments for this vision.


Anon 06/15/2019 (Sat) 17:04:37 [Preview] No.4271 del
and as if my previous post wasn´t enough to deal with, it seems that we have ended the good row of episodes.

Someone or the episode itself must explain to me why this poll has 7/10 yet 1/10 at the same time. Do we have the blunder of the first half? Let´s see if such statement turns out to be true.


Anon 06/15/2019 (Sat) 22:41:40 [Preview] No.4272 del
>>4258
>>Are we ever going to see Babs Seed again?
>I....highly doubt it despite seeing Lightning Dust in season 8. I don´t know if all the minor characters will have a proper plot device to reintroduce them one last time.

<24 hours later
folks, remember this day as the one in which I got absolutely rekt by myself with my own words. Imagine my face when I saw this scene while watching the episode for the first time.

Babs Seed has appeared again and not only her but all the characters that the CMC have helped in the entire show. I am at loss for words.

As for the episode itself, you can imagine without watching the episode what the deal is. I don´t know if I should discuss this episode first and AJ after it or in reverse. I can safely say that we are going for a ride at dealing with this material.


Anon 06/16/2019 (Sun) 04:22:43 [Preview] No.4275 del
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Wow. Here I was trying to compress my replies so you wouldn't feel like ya had to reply to every point I make and here you are tying up every loose end in the thread.


Anon 06/16/2019 (Sun) 04:27:32 [Preview] No.4276 del
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>>4272
If Babs Seed and DT and Silver Spoon get speaking rolls I will be impressed.

For Babs it may not make it up for them setting her up in season 3 so hard only for her plot to happen in the background and be dropped from the show, but I'll still be something. Note, babs is far from a favorite character, I just feel like she is one of the characters they dropped the ball on.


Anon 06/16/2019 (Sun) 04:50:33 [Preview] No.4277 del
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>>4270
>Because yes, I am announcing that there will be controversial views about her soon and I will need to explain them properly just to show all the arguments for this vision.
I'm certainly interested. Considering the fact that I layed out how I think she is written pretty poorly and can understand how people would find her and the Apple family as a whole pretty bland/bad and you still think your views will be controversial. I've never had a real favorite of the mane6 Twilight being the closest at times but even then it's bounced around and sometimes I've been almost in an opposite boat, so I usually say I just have random moods where I've had fondness for'em, Apple Jack included.

I'd say do what you feel like the most first. The Last Crusade or AJ. Whatever tickles your fancy.

>>4271
oof. Only thing good I can say is that it's still better than Uprooted's >>3952 We will see if it's merited or not. For me it easily could be butthurt over Lesbian Ponies, and feeling of possible disappointment over Scootaloo's Parents and perhaps some butthurt if certain fan groups figure that this maybe the last time there fav appears and it doen't feel satisfactory to them. That's my theory without having seen it yet anyway.


Anon 06/16/2019 (Sun) 04:55:36 [Preview] No.4278 del
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Consider this a proof of life for now. Though my review is pretty likely to be coming tomorrow and most likely most of my replies.


Anon 06/16/2019 (Sun) 04:56:55 [Preview] No.4279 del
>>4278
Didn't mean to post that again.


Anon 06/16/2019 (Sun) 14:19:46 [Preview] No.4280 del
>>4275
>I was trying to compress my replies so you wouldn't feel like ya had to reply to every point I make and here you are tying up every loose end in the thread.
that´s because I have had free time to analyze in a calm way everything that you have posted. I didn´t reply a few things with the depth that one could expose but eh, I think this will do it for the most part.

>>4276
>Note, babs is far from a favorite character, I just feel like she is one of the characters they dropped the ball on.
mostly because there weren´t any ideas for writing her or there were more interesting characters to write about. You can see how she hasn´t appeared since season 3 and she got her cutie mark long ago in season 5. Not all the characters would get saved but appearing in this scene, at least it gives you a sign that they haven´t forgotten completely about her.

Do they have ideas for DT and SS? We will see if there is any other CMC episode that features those two.

>>4277
>I layed out how I think she is written pretty poorly and can understand how people would find her and the Apple family as a whole pretty bland/bad and you still think your views will be controversial.
they are not as controversial but I will need to explain my views clearly.

>I've never had a real favorite of the mane6
it goes through phases honestly. I remember posting a little ranking in which I had Twilight, Fluttershy and Rarity as the top 3 back in 2016. Now I do like every character depending on how it´s written.

>Whatever tickles your fancy.
I will wait for review of The Last Crusade. After watching the episode is not that big of a deal in comparison to this.

>For me it easily could be butthurt over Lesbian Ponies, and feeling of possible disappointment over Scootaloo's Parents and perhaps some butthurt if certain fan groups figure that this maybe the last time there fav appears and it doen't feel satisfactory to them. That's my theory without having seen it yet anyway.
you are not that far off. We are only taking into account the /mlp/ ratings while I have seen the ratings from Derpi and EQD and they look more positive towards it.

I only gave it a watch once and honestly the Cozy Glow episode felt much less interesting than this one. The bad ratings will probably come because of the heated reactions and the threads dedicated to the media. They probably voted more as answer towards the direction than the quality of the episode itself. Besides, if the media and news didn´t tell that they were lesbians, could you tell that they were actually like that? In no moment they transmitted it explicitly nor anything related for it.

Except entering into that topic, discussing about this episode will be no different from the rest so put me as one of those who doesn´t believe the drama and stays pretty much indifferent about it.


Anon 06/16/2019 (Sun) 14:59:58 [Preview] No.4281 del
And finally, let´s talk about Applejack (how am I going to handle this?)

So the controversial view about her isn´t so obvious at first but it could probably induce to opinions that I have a certain amount of hate towards her. If one expected hate or negativity for the sake of hating, this is not the most correct opinion to rely on.

So where is the problem with her? Well, she has been one of the 6 protagonists, doing a diverse amount of tasks and heroic acts along with the mane 6, showing a pretty mature down to earth attitude and helping Twilight to keep her mind sane in a few decisions (take the role for the voice of reason) and all of that works perfectly......when she is supporting the cast.

I sounded as if I had complained about the Apple Family in general or the Sweet Apple Acres, maybe one would understand this as if they were boring in comparison to the new places/species we´ve got. And nope, I don´t have issues with the members of her family because:

Well, Granny Smith. In theory, she should have been of the most boring characters out there and in the first episodes, she acts as the typical granny but as episodes went on, we know that the Tabitha effect shows in a certain way. She is a little bit more trickster than AJ and her age doesn´t prevent her from bringing some comedy and even deliver an episode like Grannies Gone Wild, which basically parodied Golden Girls and was capable to translate all those sitcom traits in that ep. It means that she looks innocent and an out of style character but they have proved to bring a couple of surprises over the seasons, meaning that one shouldn´t look down at her because of her conditions (see her craziness in Leap of Faith)

About Big Mac, this character simply served for a catchphrase in the beginning, nothing more than a supporting character. He had stayed that way for a long time but as the writers needed new plots, they began to give a few new traits to secondary characters or even 2nd tier protagonists (Spike, Luna for example) and one of them was Big Mac. He still shows that supporting role (Going to Seed) but after all his shining spots, his presence has become less indifferent in general and more influential about the actions in Ponyville.
Enough with this introduction, what truly showed that Big Mac could be capable of leading episodes, restless and not simply caring about the farm, were his sincerity towards Apple Bloom, finding a girlfriend like Sugar Belle and spending a little bit of free time with Spike and Discord. These traits came because of his concerns, he has faced these challenges because of his own will. Does this mean that he has abandoned the old traits? Absolutely not just that there is something more going for him, there are layers that one could potentially write about him.

Lastly, we have Apple Bloom. Any fan would probably associate her more with her CMC adventures than the apple family issues (even though this falls closely into a 2nd place in her character traits). Her character has been following an arc of getting her cutie mark for 5 seasons and she has learned lessons from different sources while growing up little by little. She doesn´t only act as the voice of reason at times for the group but has also taken the lead most of the times for the next idea the CMC wanted to step in. Far from staying one dimensional, she has done a great variety of activities than the rest of her family (save AJ) despite traveling to less places than her sister and one wouldn´t consider her as boring. In fact, she shows an energetic spirit and while she doesn´t shine in honesty as much as her sister, she puts her family traces in very different situations.

So far, it doesn´t seem that I have written anything controversial, why have I described all of this in the first place?Well...


Anon 06/16/2019 (Sun) 15:40:54 [Preview] No.4282 del
the previous post served to describe that I don´t have a particular problem with the Apple Family by itself neither do the single characters on their own. I forgot about describing about the Sweet Apple Acres and let me tell you something, the apple farm could be a more memorable and charming location than the entirety of Ponyville. The latter doesn´t have a clear map of its design, meaning that it can be confusing at picturing it into your mind while the Sweet Apple Acres show a clear yet simple design that has stayed timeless design. That doesn´t mean the place is boring by itself, it does bring a sense of coziness. We have had the entire of Going to Seed in it and it has been the main location for a conflicting problem like Bats!. The farm might be more memorable than three quarters of Ponyville actually.

So leaving the apple family and the farm aside, let´s face Applejack as a character. What´s the matter with her?
Well, the problem is that there have been so many episodes about her that one should be appreciating her presence all the time. She shows three main character traits: honesty, down to earth attitude that care about her family and a solid mindset all the time. Does this mean that I am against those virtues? Absolutely not, they are really valuable and she proves that those values are basic in order to keep a society in order.

What irks me the most is that despite all her good will and intentions, she is the least commercial character to write about. Whenever you get to write about her, anyone can see clearly how she acts without any mistakes. You see her actions coming from a long mile and she proves to do them either way, whether we are watching a season 1 episode or a season 8 story. Really easy to have her basics established and pretty hard to make her out of character in any story (Somepony to Watch Over Me did that in the wrong way though).

The problem is that her basics prevent her from adding more layers to her that could make the viewer scream as something secondary about her character. Her maturity and honesty made her a full fleshed out character from the very beginning and unlike the rest of the main 6, writers have attempted and failed for the most part to make her interesting because of her own creation, driving one to think that she is an obliging mare. She sometimes shines pretty well with those traits and the closest arc she has received is the Flim Flam episodes: The Best Gift Ever and Viva Las Pegasus. Interesting happen around her but not because she makes the interesting, others have to motivate the plot instead: Sounds of Silence (Autumn Blaze), The Mane Attraction(Rara) and the Pie family (Heartbreakers, Pinkie Apple Pie).

Those episodes that I have mentioned are some of my all time favorites because she contributes well enough in them but I complain that she is not of the main driving forces. She is pleasant enough and there has to be an outsider to drive her at doing different actions that she usually does. This could be the reason Going to Seed will grow on me and add a little bit more praise from my part because from her own will, she decided to catch the Great Seedling.


Anon 06/16/2019 (Sun) 15:58:14 [Preview] No.4283 del
So my controversy doesn´t mean that I hate her nor I despise her. It means that it frustrates me that AJ hasn´t been capable of getting more layers because of her attitude, unlike the rest of her family. The worst offender of this is that when it comes to discussion and universal praise, the best AJ episode that has aired so far was the one that didn´t feature her as a protagonist: The Perfect Pear.

Some of these lines could even justify the reasons why /mlp/ memes her as the "background pony". Her traits could have worked for 3 or 4 seasons but she has stayed behind in terms of rhythm in comparison to the others, nullifying her capability to shine when other characters with far less episode have shone much more (Big Mac in Brotherhooves Social). AJ is the clearest example of staying behind relatively speaking and while examples like the mane 6, Dolores, Trixie, Celestia, Chrysalis, Spike or even the Students (appearing much later) grow as characters over the episodes, she stays pretty much in the same spot. She suffers the Simpsons effect in her attitude while the others follow the flow of time.

You don´t get a sense of satisfaction whenever she gets to appear again, she doesn´t have an arc nor an evolution to keep her an eye with the subtle lines that she could drop in between the dialogues. Unlike for example Fluttershy with the dragons, from staying as the scared one of the mane 6 to facing Garble eye to eye, staying as the only pony in the middle of the Dragonlands.

In MLP, we have become used to seeing so many changes over the seasons and AJ because of the rest but she has stayed there. One could even think that she has turned to be the archetype in the end and the most plain character that you would expect over the years. Sure, that stability could be taken as a timeless advantage but others have learned lessons of honesty and humbleness after the episodes that beat her in her territory with much more entertainment during the process.

Her honesty is shown all the time but how effective is it throughout the episodes? One could judge about her subtle gestures by the time you want to analyze those details, you will have seen them for the most part in any other episode about her. This prevents me to judge an episode about her as an all time best that comes directly from her attitude as the leading force, even Granny Smith has ignored her advice several times because of the lack of fun that comes from AJ´s words.

Her character traits have turned out to be her blessing in terms of consistency but a curse when it comes to making you scream WOW! about her after so much material, ending up to general conclusions of blandness for a lot of fans. She´s solid but at the same time, she has followed the same formula all the time and while you see the others making progress at getting more layers into their lives, she had reached the final train stop in season 1 without encouraging herself at doing something new. She did her homework before asking her for any task.

I believe that I have exposed (almost) everything about her.


Anon 06/17/2019 (Mon) 05:36:40 [Preview] No.4284 del
>>4283
I can't detail my thoughts now but I believe our views aren't that far apart at all.

Have seen the episode. I'm a bit mixed, but in a different way than you might think, at least in my first impressions.

** Proof of life. About to be hit by really strong
severe weather. If I don't post ya know why basically. **


Anon 06/17/2019 (Mon) 08:03:31 [Preview] No.4285 del
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>>4281
>>4282
>>4283
I do not think there is much disagreement here from me at all. I do not know how much I can add because I really think this sums it up
> So my controversy doesn´t mean that I hate her nor I despise her. It means that it frustrates me that AJ hasn´t been capable of getting more layers because of her attitude, unlike the rest of her family.
I take you to my point,
>She is played completely straight most of the time
She is a one trick pony. Little depth or personality beyoud that core archetype. It ain't bad as a default setting, but with nothing else happening. She feels like the character that has least been broken from her archetype she has been placed on. The others have sometimes been rocky but always got something (Rainbow Dash loving books for a simple example) not to mention having learned at evolved.

>I sounded as if I had complained about the Apple Family in general or the Sweet Apple Acres, maybe one would understand this as if they were boring in comparison to the new places/species we´ve got. And nope, I don´t have issues with the members of her family because:
Because some of them still grew. What I was saying here:
>The rest of the Apple Family to varying degrees can also feel like hollow shells of this same thing. It's played completely straight. There isn't contrast or culture.
I perhaps should've worded this a bit more nuanced, but I was working on the assumption that you didn't like the Apple family and you found the stereotype and setting boring, and I was saying I could understand that. I have personally considered some of the Apple family characters some of the weaker written ones of the show. While the core Apples grew, they still started in pretty average rolls. Not all of it bad mind you, but played very straight. I could see those who saw Granny as boring even if I personally don't and Apple Bloom was the weakest written of the CMC, not bad, but she had a bit more of a one note personality till later seasons. I stress, she wasn't badly written, but it seemed like Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle had better secondary issues and secondary personalty traits for awhile. I was thinking too of the lesser side Apple family characters like Braeburn as well. I could understand, and sometimes agree, of their appearances and personalties being weaker and sometimes a little bland. I say this with someone who has more rural connections than the average city slicker.


>the previous post served to describe that I don´t have a particular problem with the Apple Family by itself neither do the single characters on their own. I forgot about describing about the Sweet Apple Acres and let me tell you something, the apple farm could be a more memorable and charming location than the entirety of Ponyville. The latter doesn´t have a clear map of its design
I love Sweet Apple Arces.Though...
>>4262
>There isn't contrast or culture. Sweet Apple Acres is sometimes a source of conflict, but it certainly hasn't in the way of Raity's business. It hasn't grown, hasn't had many containing plot threads, or even been used to its full potential. It's just a set piece most of the time.
Sounds a little harsh doesn't it? I was thinking in terms of AJ having a character arch from it and it not evolving i the same way of other places. Stuff just sort of popping in and out, no expansions, and being the same place in a Ponyville that grew with the seasons while it was just kind of sitting. It being a constant was not bad, just felt sort of stagnant and a little in compression Rarity's, Twilight Sparkle's and Rainbow Dash's paths especially. It had some good cozy feels though for sure though. Perhaps I need to separate the farm from the farmer.

My personal thoughts on the Apple family have usually been neutral to positive, aside from some concerns over I what I feel to be ruralness that felt weaker than other thematic elements of culture groups. I suppose this could extent both to Earth ponies as a whole (though the situation is a bit better) and perhaps compressed down to AJ herself.

N


Anon 06/17/2019 (Mon) 08:06:27 [Preview] No.4286 del
>>4285
>Hit character limit
Note: again I am typing very late, so if something seems strange or off you know why.
Yes, I survived the storms.
Why did I make a POLS for it?
The storm was really strong and had shown possible tornadic activity earlier
Fortunately it stopped its rotation and spread out.


Anon 06/17/2019 (Mon) 22:09:26 [Preview] No.4287 del
Review/Scattered brain thoughts on the Last Crusade.

Where do I begin? I don't know how to put this because after seeing it twice now I cannot believe how much I am of a mixed mind on this. There is a lot of ways to look at this. Okay, the plot at it's most basic conceptional level I do not hate at all. A lot of the problems come from external factors both inuniverse and outside of it, though I'm ot sure how much of it you could hold against the episode. Scootaloo's aunts. I have absolutely no problem with as characters in the slightest. They seem, alright, even pretty likable and charming. The who Lesbian thing is being blow out of proportion for sure. It is a nonfactor to the story at all. That's the problem though, all the media yamering and people angry over it when the show staff have shipped Lyra and Bon Bon for years and way more explicitly. These characters being the first pairing officially cannon like that would certainly rub a lot of people the wrong way outside the Corporate pandering praise and people worried about "gay agendas". If they were going to do anything that was actually noteworthy with that it should've been with one of the other pairings. They didn't do anything noteworthy at all. They just appeared and the only way we know they are lesbian is because it was told to us. I can understand frustration with that on its own but I don't hold against th characters here. I and am extremely socially conservative in personal values, and I find all this whining about it, celebratory or against it a waste of time. Who cares, it's a complete nonfactor.

Now for the episode itself. It was okay... I think. I thought the CMC were fine here and enjoyed their anttics. I tried to picture myself with all the current factors what the writing staff would do if this was the last episode of the CMC or the last one focued one CMC itself, mayb not the last CMC as characters I can see the choices made with trying tie in Scootaloo's family question with one last cameo from all of them and in that sense it felt satisfactory. It felt kind of /comfy/ tbh.

But...


Anon 06/17/2019 (Mon) 22:20:46 [Preview] No.4288 del
>>4287
Scootaloo's parents I feel the most mixed on. There can be a pretty strong case made for and against them. On the one hoof, what would we be complaining about if we never saw her parents ? Their would be butthurt over it and I understand them trying to tie a loose end. I don't hate them and this episode taken as a vacuum, I don't think thy are that bad. You could complain of arbitrariness but I think their was more than a random logic in making them these adventurer researchers. It does fit in a way. They were in Ponyville to study the Everfree forest, when they found most everything they could there, they left for more dangerous places and didn't feel comfortable bringing their daughter. I think it could've been a glories opportunity with Scootaloo's implied disabilities that she has parents who are quite outdoors man adventurers, but now that almost feels like a wasted opportunity.

Their is part of these characters though that feel a little fanficish and possibly a little cheap. It feels like "see Scootaloo had awesome parents this whole time!" I'm not sure I'm willing to go that far, but I wouldn't blame those who felt that way. TBH, I think one issue that I can't hold fully against them is that they weren't introduced before this, though it does feel like they are a bit too late to be used well. I'm not sure they would have been the same characters...
https://youtu.be/KqdkHOFhlW4?t=105
>Me. Growing up, I never thought I'd be the best at anything, because nopony ever told me.
Is this irreconcilable? Not quite, but it isn't something that fits perfectly either. It could be grafted on about her not having somepony to support in the sense that she has her parents absent but it feels of a darker context in episode. I can see the case of feeling like they just popped outta nowhere and just feel inconsistent with the whole arc. I also can understand the disappointment in some if this does turn out to be the last CMC episode, though I'm of a mixed mind if I share it or not.

Final rating: IDK, I'm been split from giving this as high as an 8 to as low as a 5. I feel the most of the issues ar around the episode rather than within, but I'm of a mixed mind on some aspects. Especially if this was the last Cutie Mark Cusaders episode focused on the arch of their jobs. Though it could be not. I withhold my rating for now, as I feel completely split.

Other notes:
1) At least DT got to wave... better than I can say for Babs Seed, who was just a background pony. Don't hold this at fault for the episode though.
2) It would've been interesting to have had this whole multiple ponies taking care of Scootaloo thing revealed earlier! Doesn't a Scootaloo with somepony like Rarity sound like an interesting setting?
3) I love the photo development room.


Anon 06/17/2019 (Mon) 22:32:41 [Preview] No.4289 del
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Though I think in light of all the drama, we are forgetting the most important character in the episode. Clearly, this character is mysterious. Gen 5's villain?


Anon 06/18/2019 (Tue) 00:02:52 [Preview] No.4290 del
>>4288
it seems that your review about sounds pretty plausible and you seem to go from the least controversial part to the biggest one when it comes to the episode's quality. As you say,there is no material to explicitly point out at Scootaloo's aunts for being lesbians if it weren't because of a few screams from the users and the show staff for giving more fuel to them on Twitter. In short, throwing drama at each other so the rest gets to witness another duel with certain politics in mind.

As soon as I read you post from earlier, I knew that those two didn't cause the problem but the inviduals who broke the headcanon of Scootaloo being an orphan: her parents. Their introduction and especially the message shown with their decision being a lot of meat to cut.

I should give this episode a 2nd watch because I was mostly focused about the drama of Scoot's aunts. With them aside, one begin to get into the roots of your mixed feelings about it. I do have seen a thread or two complaining solely about her parents on /mlp/ but I want to figure it out for myself and how problematic the real deal was here.

This is a PoLS by adding a few words to it but I should give the complete thoughts in detail about it at some point. Despite not living there,I think the weather doesn't look quite as rough as last night. Everything seems to lead to a sunny summer solstice over there

>>4289
If it turned out to become the villain of gen 5, Grogar in comparison would look majestic when it comes to the design. I suppose that we might have seen it in the Everfree Forest before,probably the episode The End in Friend or something that would appear in a swamp.


Anon 06/18/2019 (Tue) 05:29:27 [Preview] No.4291 del
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Listen anons. The episode has failed in everyway. It is awful for Scootaloo's arch and questionable for the CMC as a whole.
Are you sure about that? The concept isn't on shaky ground at all. What would they have done if not for this episode?
After all this time her parents suddenly decide to just show up! Never mentioned before. The implications have always been that she has had a questionable home life. Now they suddenly give her perfect parents straight from a wish fic? And for what? So they can show up in the background for a couple of episodes!?
It's ambiguous enough that you can fit it in. Besides, it's not like everything has been thought up from the very beginning before? A lot of characters have randomly appeared who would've been logically mentioned before.
%Do you really think that her saying that she never had anypony telling her she was the best at anything fits with the scenario show before us. You could graft that onto her parents absence yes, but what does it say about the aunts though?%
Nothing. The aunts were shown to be quite supportive of her, and if anything, knowing her situation better than the parents.
Then its an inconsistency, and shows how out of nowhere this plot came from.
Her aunts weren't mentioned of being always around either. She was being taken care of by a mix of ponies.
So how come this has never shown up before? Miss Cake, Rarity, somepony would think she show a bit of a relationship with some of these ponies.
I'd image ponies like Rarity and Rainbow would be a somewhat more recent development. Besides, would she really be that friendly with all of her babysitters?
Tsk, tsk, really with the excuses today Dolores. There is no way with all the issues and insecurities she has show in the past that this doesn't reflect badly one at least one of the parties involved here. Her parents, her aunts, and whomever else is in this living arrangement we have suddenly been made aware of that apparently has been going on for nine whole seasons.
What you are going on is one inconsistency. The absence of her parents otherwise isn't that unusual for the show. Shining Armour, Cadence, Rainbow's parents, Fluttershy's family. There is a lot of characters that logically should've gotten a mention before their introductions but never did. There was no way introducing them this late into the game they would've been able to avoid this problem and they had to give some moderately probable excuse. Making them researchers both explains her reason for living in ponyville do them researching the Everfree and her reason for her parents absence. It fits a bit better into the puzzle them you are willing to admit... why are you smiling like that?


Anon 06/18/2019 (Tue) 05:35:46 [Preview] No.4292 del
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>>4291
Let's take apart this puzzle, shall we? Why do her aunts not already live in Ponyville? Why did they make them live close by but not in the town?
Probably to explain there absence at previous times as well and Scootaloo seeming greater independence at times.
Well, one would think, under your logic, they should already be living with her?
Not necessarily.
If absences don't matter, like you say, why did their's did enough for them to be written to not be simply taking care of her themselves? Doesn't this cast some of her moments in a negative light? Perhaps this was to explain that implication from Parental Glideance and the absence of authority figures in her life? It doesn't show highly of her parents and her aunts. Why didn't her parents send her to live with her aunts? Do you see how this doesn't quite fit without making somepony look a little bad?
...


Anon 06/18/2019 (Tue) 05:46:38 [Preview] No.4293 del
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>>4292
...
The only inconsistency I give you is the one in Parental Glideance, and even then it's only partial. It would require an analysis of other moments and any other implication on her living state that has been made, otherwise, it is a single implication that was made by one lone writer and can't be held as a pattern that they were implying Scootaloo had a rough home life or orphan status. As for her not living with her aunts, is that really as extreme as you make it out to be? I mean Apple Jack's cutie mark orgin story for goodness sake is her leaving to travel to Manehattan on her own. It has been heavily implied that foals can go off and travel and do things with minimal supervision outside of what be considered acceptable to the anons world.
True on the foals, but only partially. We have also seen them needing supervision on that same level as well. I will admit that a further analysis is needed on any other scrapes of information relating to her homelife as happened besides Parental Glideance, but tell me, Parental Glideance plus all other episodes excluding this one, what conclusion would you have drawn for Scootaloo's home life?
We really didn't have much to go on. I say, with hesitance, that I thought they were implying Scootaloo may have been a rough around the edges foal with a possibly questionable status, but it was never spelled out in stone. I never believed in orphanhood from the moment we saw she had a house she lived in though.
See, I got you cornered now. This plot makes no sense.
That's a bit of a stretch isn't it? Tell me what would happen if they never shown her parents? You'd be just as whinny as before. Urg... I'm tired, let's finish this debate another time.
Agreed. Though you must admit that I one this round. As for your last question, I don't know, but I can tell you it be better than this and more fitting of what was shown before. Maybe even tie Babs and DT and SS into too and truly tie up all loose ends.
You can't hold that against the episode itself.
Yes I can. The final season should be held to a higher standard, at least with closure.
Smell you later!
Urg... (Dolores gives an eyeroll as Twilight departs)


Anon 06/18/2019 (Tue) 07:02:33 [Preview] No.4294 del
>>4293
And this episode of Snarky Bitter Twilight argues with Dolores was brought to you by the battle being waged inside my head. I mean really, I have never felt so spit.

>>4290
>it seems that your review about sounds pretty plausible and you seem to go from the least controversial part to the biggest one when it comes to the episode's quality. As you say,there is no material to explicitly point out at Scootaloo's aunts for being lesbians if it weren't because of a few screams from the users and the show staff for giving more fuel to them on Twitter. In short, throwing drama at each other so the rest gets to witness another duel with certain politics in mind.
Yeah. Frankly it's pretty stupid. I don't like how it was pandered for pride month in media circles and /pol/'s hatred all the same. I;m not sure how this random couple over Lyra and Bon Bon or Octavia and Vinyl Scratch makes much sense. From what I hear it was the writers who requested it. it could easily be a calculated risk on Hasbro's part as well. Figuring the social environment was safe enough that they get some protection from the twitter mobs and just never accepted (or writters ever thought they could get it through) before with the others. Oh well, shiping straight or otherwise I have never cared for. Personally though I think I like the aunts tbh.

>I should give this episode a 2nd watch because I was mostly focused about the drama of Scoot's aunts. With them aside, one begin to get into the roots of your mixed feelings about it. I do have seen a thread or two complaining solely about her parents on /mlp/ but I want to figure it out for myself and how problematic the real deal was here.
Though it skews more positive in oppinion in some of the other corners of the ponynet, I have seen fair bit questioning the parents. I am truly split on them. Their are certain threads of logic where I can fully see those who hated it are coming from. Part of me feels what would they have done with the parents and there certainly would be people butthurt if they never showed up. Yet, I think they did show up too late to be great, and the absence seems a bit long. I'm not sure how you could judge them inuniverse or not. Even then though, is that something I should hold against the episode? Not sure... among sevral other issues Overall though I enjoyed watching it. Part of me feels like that if I tried to put myself in somonee's shoes and write it would it be much different in the basic goals?
Yet I can see threads of logic where I could be disappionted all the same. My head...

>Despite not living there,I think the weather doesn't look quite as rough as last night. Everything seems to lead to a sunny summer solstice over there
Yep, clear mostly save some of the coastal areas I think... Though storms certainly can be /confy/

>If it turned out to become the villain of gen 5, Grogar in comparison would look majestic when it comes to the design.
Yeah. But maybe with a little fixing up, I can meme him so hard he gets to be in G5! Laughs maniacally


Anon 06/22/2019 (Sat) 23:19:22 [Preview] No.4311 del
before you get to comment about anything the latest episode, I will guarantee you that there will be far less problems discussing about it than The Last Crusade.

If you want to see them doing something worth of SoL material, this is your day because both Luna and Celestia have shown desires about doing something else besides their tiresome duties.A really mundane story for the characters that we are talking about, you almost forget that they are powerful for a while (also compiling all the places, characters during the song)

This contrast will most likely bring joy and a carefree time just as much as the two protagonists show. I have only watched it once but I can definitely tell you that it won´t bother you as much as the last episode, not even close. It proves again how much FiM doesn´t take itself too seriously all the time... and that´s a good thing.

Everything has been written and the doors are closed in the production team. Why should fans care about the future content? The happy mood conveyed in this episode is what one fan should take for what´s left in this gen: unlimited enjoyment.

As this image shows: they argue, they cry, they enjoy their time together despite having few things in common and they care about each other in the end.


Anon 06/22/2019 (Sat) 23:29:37 [Preview] No.4312 del
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one small thing to add here:

if anyone thought that the princesses were out of touch because of their age, I have big news for them. They love the 80s subcultures

...a lot.


Anon 06/30/2019 (Sun) 21:34:31 [Preview] No.4325 del
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So I didn't realize that...

Rainbow Roadtrip was released?

I'm getting ready to dive in. TBH a little excited and nervous. This special has been a hype train, especially do to it's somewhat odd state of being a stripped down movie. It feels like this could be something that will be so epic it'll be hard to top, something that's just /confy/ and standalone or something that's a bit chaotic and messy do to possible development hell. In anycase, I hope it's interesting. I think I could even be happy if it feels strange and offputting because there still could be a lot to talk about.

Yeah, I haven't even seen Between Dark and Dawn but I'm gonna get into this first. Will come with thoughts later.


Anon 07/01/2019 (Mon) 00:22:07 [Preview] No.4326 del
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Alright, six minutes in and I already have several observations. One of the things that sticks out right now is pacing. It almost feels a bit odd in a adventure like this to just start with them leaving right away and just explaining the exposition as they go along. Yet, in episodes where they don't spend too much time setting up the plot and just go with it I usually consider stronger (I'm looking at uprooted with it's 3rd of padding at the beginning as being one of the worst examples). If we get to spend more time in a interesting location than I'm all for it. I'm not going too much else into things as most of the stuff I noticed is very tiny. It feels quite /confy/ so far!

Not sure I'll post any more live reactions/observations but I'm just happy to be chilling with ponies!


Anon 07/01/2019 (Mon) 00:32:18 [Preview] No.4327 del
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>catch and release trout activities
Wow this is so bluepilled with illegal immigrants. Those trout are all over the place! Equestria could be swamped with trout and they could one day outnumber our ponies!

If you don't get the joke it's just that I'm using catch and release as a reference to US immigration politics.


Anon 07/01/2019 (Mon) 00:43:37 [Preview] No.4328 del
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Wonder if this will be involved in some way.
no


Anon 07/01/2019 (Mon) 00:48:49 [Preview] No.4329 del
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The mane 6 have arrived to Hope Hollow. RED ALERT!


Anon 07/01/2019 (Mon) 00:57:25 [Preview] No.4330 del
Alright guys, you've seen crazy small towns before. Remember Dolores?


Anon 07/01/2019 (Mon) 05:04:04 [Preview] No.4331 del
Done watching. (I got interrupted a couple of times if you wondering why I spent like 3 hours between postings) It wasn't quite the tone that I expected. It felt like a different tonal style than the show. Very simple, like a storybook or holiday special. It wasn't bad, but I'm not sure if I could say it was a bit disappointing. But It I'll take me awhile to judge. I mean it was still quick /confy/. Core moral I think is great too. Just wish their was a bit more with that mystery tensing and rainbow toyline before it aired and mysterious vibe they had in the first part of the episode.

Scattered thoughts:
Their is so much stuff going on with the lore. I find the hopeless magic interesting. Part of me could just run with every tiny question I could come up with.

How did this town not get any help? It may not be too insane actually. At least under the logic of a big Equestria. Though newer seasons have often made the world feel smaller we must remember that Equestria has been portrayed with large areas of questionable law and order (Diamond Dog gags a day's walk from ponyville anyone?) and plenty of smaller towns. This place probably just wasn't under many ponies radar.

So you're telling me there was no cool rainbow magic at all and Twilight was just waring wingbling? I thought the mane 6 would have some kind of rainbow designs happen to'em based on the promos and toys. Oh well, not the biggest thing I suppose. I still like it. Just wish they would have done more rainbow stuff with everypony else.

Opening intro and first song weak, Living in Color was just fine.

And that's it for now!


Anon 07/18/2019 (Thu) 04:19:55 [Preview] No.4379 del
what did I think of Episode 13?

That it maybe my favorite of the season so far (well almost, a certain trio of villains come to mind). This episode seemed to do most things pretty well. I think the thematic of Celly and Luna's sisterhood problem felt stronger to me than in A Royal Problem. I haven't seen a Royal Problem in a long while though so I can't say that 100%. The pacing was fine, even with them taking a little while to start the main plot. The pre plot of gag of Luna and Celestia helping everypony left and right was fun (even if it possibly softly breaks season 1 and season 2 implications). That ending though was especially strong!

Final rating: 9.5/10

Other observations:
>We put a small part of our power in this amulet
1) I am really curious on that amulet. We don't really get much information on it despite seeing it in use. They said they put a small amount of their power in the amulet. Does that mean it doesn't take much of their power to raise the sun/moon? That seems strange. I mean, it would go with the idea that it really is tied more to a special spell relating to their cutie marks over a feat of power, but most things we've seen contradicted this that I can recall. I mean, whether you take it as the pillars or every unicorn in existence who used to raise and lower the sun/moon, it is still an entire race/several very powerful ponies needed to do what Celestia/Luna did on their own. I could nerd out at this for hours, but ultimately, unless it plays a part later on, it may just be a one off magical object/line that would be questionable to apply to everything. This is not a complaint against the episode at all though.
2) Twilight Sparkle and her friends have already overseen summits and events larger than this plenty of times before. Her worries over the sun and moon are perfectly understandable though. This is more of an observation than any kind of negative remark.
3) Luna has never used the post office? That seems pretty basic thing to miss out on. Then again, the royal sisters use scrolls, so I guess it could work.


Anon 07/18/2019 (Thu) 04:27:02 [Preview] No.4380 del
Only complaint that I saw that I could even partly agree with was the faces that were used a few times looked off. I think the princesses less circular heads make some of these faces less appealing than on the average pony (well, mare anyway). It was too small to factor into my rating however, and it certainly wasn't a prominent as some made it out to be. Mainly with Celestia.


Anon 07/18/2019 (Thu) 04:31:23 [Preview] No.4381 del
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And the song was pretty good too. Though I was pretty distracted by all the random ponies/others out on this on grassy trail just doing random stuff.


Anon 07/18/2019 (Thu) 05:11:18 [Preview] No.4382 del
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Further thoughts/review on Rainbow Roadtrip.

This one is more questionable. Do I hate it? No. I fully expected this to be off in some way do to the fact that it is essentially a movie theater production that was downgraded to a TV special. So I almost didn't have any expectations going in. I stress this, almost because I had one thing I didn't think of: I was surprised by how simple and straight forward it was. I was expecting their would be a little more in terms of what was going on. I was expecting something perhaps a little stranger do to development hell. What little we knew seemed to suggest a mystery plot of some kind, and I was expecting some type of rainbow magic to be in play (I mean, remember those Rainbow ponies they released and TS wing bling was featured pretty heavily in promos). So I will say that I am slightly disappointed. I think development hell is the most likely explanation for this though. The first 15 minutes have a bit of a spooky vibe of something amiss going on and a sense of adventure that just kind of fades into slice of life. I can't really hold it too much against'em. At least under this theory. Think about it. Early in production your budget is cut and you have to wrap it up in a timely manner. Of course you'd go with a simple stripped down plot without too much conflict. In fact, under that idea, it almost is an achievement how clean it and smooth flowing it is compared to other projects that have met such fates. But still, this certainly isn't what I'd expect from something that was intended for the big screen. I wonder what the original script was like.

Their was still a lot of elements I liked of this. The hopeless magic, the machine, even the new townsponies. But it feels those elements are undercooked. This cake was taken out of the oven too early.
6.5/10.

One other note: Is it just me? Or does the tone of this special feel... tamer than even Season 1 at times midway through. I can't even say that as a complaint on its own, just an observation.


Anon 07/20/2019 (Sat) 06:33:09 [Preview] No.4387 del
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Red Alert!
More episodes are dropping! Though I could alreay tell with more drama on /mlp/
I sure hope the final isn't one of them...
https://www.equestriadaily.com/2019/07/yep-more-warning-chinese-episode-19-and.html


Anon 07/20/2019 (Sat) 07:13:54 [Preview] No.4388 del
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Okay, what is going on?

MLP went from background now to moderate non fandom pop culture presence again. At least for this tiny moment.
Now with a hint of... IRL drama!?
https://www.equestriadaily.com/2019/07/the-baker-that-baked-stoney-pony.html

Don't even get me started on this.
https://www.equestriadaily.com/2019/07/bernie-brony-sanders-cosplays-as-pony.html
<-20 Negative points for classifying RD as working class and mess up with CMC and such details.
<-50 Negative for how tired I am of late night hosts.
>2+ for knowing who Chrysalis is.
>3+ for Sombra. I could see him also coming up if one google searched My Little Pony Villains.
>5+ for Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, not something I'd expect a total outsider to kn-
>+30 COZY GLOW! Wow. Still may not be quite my thing but that sure is some actual homework with that one.
And this little conversation sparked from this also surprises, considering the who gay fiasco REEEE /pol/ was having. Kind of sad, almost funny. But discussion in depth is for /go/ I suppose.

And then you have Minecraft trending as contrarianism... Pewdiepie playing it...
What else could their be then us being teliported back to

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA=
This is out now too:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=SqN4Yuylj8o [Embed]
Yep, it's out. The creator actually came through.
Yeah, the animation looks slightly improved, but it's still the same freaking look from 2012. Same stilted not flash animation.
I'm freaked out.

When did 2019 become 2012?


Anon 07/20/2019 (Sat) 07:23:38 [Preview] No.4389 del
>>4388
This was the little conversation I was referring to. Actually, now that I think about it it's not really worth posting here, but sense I mentioned it. I will just because it'd be weird not too.

I guess a few from Tumblr are still butthurt from the old wars...

Then again, I have heard of SJW's going after EqG for queerbaiting.
Tumblr drama + leaks. Flirting with the end...
We are in 2013!


Anon 07/20/2019 (Sat) 18:40:01 [Preview] No.4390 del
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It's the end coming sooner than we thought?
What do we do? Do we hide, or do we dive in least we get spoiled?


Anon 07/21/2019 (Sun) 20:26:28 [Preview] No.4393 del
>>4387
>More episodes are dropping! Though I could alreay tell with more drama on /mlp/ I sure hope the final isn't one of them...
/mlp/ expected to have all the episodes aired in 3 weeks so by August we may know all the material left if we want to see it.

That doesn't mean that you have to go insane or crazy because of it and...

>>4390
>What do we do? Do we hide, or do we dive in least we get spoiled?
Bridgefag! Calm down!Don't get a heart attack because you have to be alive in order to see the material. That's the first step and the most essential one for literally anything else.

With that requirement accomplished,there are always solution for everything so we don't need to worry about it. /mlp/ has clear bunkers of those episodes and Derpi already filters them so unless you have any desire to spoil yourself,it will be because of your own decision.

Now,you are probably panicking because of getting important aspects of those episodes in random thread and reading one or two lines that define the events ocurred on the episode.

However,I've said before that there are a lot of solutions for this and we've got to remember that this is MLP. I watched the MLP on cinema despite seeing quite a lot of it from the Derpi images and I still had a blast.So where do I want to arrive at with this sentence?

Basically the ride consists in your own experience while watching the episodes even if you know part of the plot beforehand.The two most important aspects of the episodes,leaving spoilers aside,are the enjoyment and your judgement of said content.

I had to watch Uprooted four times before getting into those conclusions and despite knowing what would happen in that episode after the first try,I had to check other aspects because of the slice of life spirit.

This show doesn't rely on heavy plots and interactions in the end are the ultimate product ,unlike a heavy linear series like Game of Thrones.

Having mentioned this,I suggest to go in a normal speed for reviewing them.Considering that we are not really active,we could milk what we already have and by the time we have discussed everything or the US episode airs,we move onto the next one. I still have to give my views about three episodes so we can wait.

Now,you can watch them if you want but that's up to you. You can even judge them better and have a longer period before jumping into conclusions of those episodes. Or focus on your projects that you want to share meanwhile.

So yeah,as long as you don't die during the path,there are pretty simple ways to solve this,let alone if it's able to ruin the experience for a franchise of this kind.


Anon 07/22/2019 (Mon) 00:29:26 [Preview] No.4394 del
>>4388
>MLP went from background now to moderate non fandom pop culture presence again. At least for this tiny moment.Now with a hint of... IRL drama!?
not drama exactly. Everyone had a laugh with that cake,including the boss. The only problem shown here was that the manager doesn't seem to have a sense of humor nor a good mood in the usual behavior. So despite that "drama" happening over there,almost everyone ended up winning because the employee didn't want to stay with that manager.

>Don't even get me started on this.
well.....we have talked about politics getting involved into MLP but it looks like we are going into the Soviet Russia logic,MLP is what has engaged actual politicians. Pretty surprising that he acknowledged Cozy Glow considering that she is not the most iconic character out there,not to mention that she has only appeared in a counted episodes of these last two episodes.We are not talking about an outsider here nor fans of the early fandom here. I have to tip my hat for being curious about this show.

>And then you have Minecraft trending as contrarianism.
Minecraft had a period in which all the kids/preteens jumped into it because of Youtubers. Are there still kids joining in to that game for that same reason? Yes but we have to consider that Minecraft....is still sadly the best survival game that has never stayed out of touch nor aged a single bit.Even a few adults have come back with the recent patches(1.13 has been one of the most famous updates) so we are dealing with a huge titan that isn't going to disappear anytime soon.

>Yep, it's out. The creator actually came through.The animation looks slightly improved, but it's still the same freaking look from 2012. Same stilted not flash animation.
Considering that animation by itself is expensive and there are no tools with a free download like Unity for video games,it becomes quite complicated to achieve visual improvements. Flash and maybe Toon Boom could become a relatively cheap method but those times haven't arrived yet. Still,this report is what would come in the /go/ thread and when I saw this in EQD,I asked myself if you had known about it....and it seems that you were a fan all along.

>When did 2019 become 2012?
things over time come back but not because of trends exactly. They simply happen because of traditions or simply writing another page to what was left behind a few years ago.If they have made a coincidence...I don't know how to correlate them but I suppose this chill out times happen because of the excess of politics and other interests arise spontaneously.

If those things that you have mention have stayed as relevant as back then,they must have done something right that lead them to hold up to this day and maybe because of different reasons/contexts.


Anon 07/22/2019 (Mon) 00:52:29 [Preview] No.4395 del
>>4389
>now that I think about it it's not really worth posting here, but sense I mentioned it. I will just because it'd be weird not too.
holy sh*yay*,that statement is actually sad to write at this point. There are people out there who still carry that mindset to this day. Unlike my previous post,those thoughts haven't aged that well. This is just simply stupid.

>I guess a few from Tumblr are still butthurt from the old wars...Then again, I have heard of SJW's going after EqG for queerbaiting.
they have become a joke. SJW or the modern left tires me a lot and they repeat the same things over and over without actually thinking about those conclusions. There is a moment when you don't care about what they say about you being a nazi/fascist or whatever the tag that apply to civilized people who don't agree with them,you simply give up because the brain cannot deal with what they ask all the time.The screencap shows the definition of "Stop liking what I don't like" but if it had something that they didn't like in the past,you have to say sorry for existing without taking part of it(in this case 4chan)

It's not offensive nor thoughtful,it's simply sad,lazy....and boring,really really boring in the end.

It's no wonder why the NPC was created a couple of years ago and Tumblr was pure fuel for daily memes.

>Tumblr drama + leaks. Flirting with the end...We are in 2013!
Be careful with what you wish for. If we are in 2013, then it means that we are getting the two biggest explosions of drama from the fanbase. Your secret plan seems to be that you want to play with violent fire here...

which is fun by the way


Anon 07/22/2019 (Mon) 04:59:38 [Preview] No.4396 del
>>4387
>>4395
Leaks Leaks Leaks U bronies can't ever seem to contain your body fluids at this rate. (((Carrots))).


Anon 07/25/2019 (Thu) 01:50:04 [Preview] No.4402 del
>>4393
>Having mentioned this,I suggest to go in a normal speed for reviewing them.Considering that we are not really active,we could milk what we already have and by the time we have discussed everything or the US episode airs,we move onto the next one.
I think I agree. Fears of something utterly awesome/horrifying not withstanding. Even stumbling upon some key line or moment will likely not ruin or shape perception in the same way a spolier for who the Prince of Winter would. I managed to stay mostly spoiled free of the season 8 leaks anyway. I'd prefer to prolong the end as much as possible too.

>>4394
>So despite that "drama" happening over there,almost everyone ended up winning because the employee didn't want to stay with that manager.
It's minor compared to some incidents of the past of course.

>MLP is what has engaged actual politicians. Pretty surprising that he acknowledged Cozy Glow considering that she is not the most iconic character out there,not to mention that she has only appeared in a counted episodes of these last two episodes.We are not talking about an outsider here nor fans of the early fandom here. I have to tip my hat for being curious about this show.
I was especially surprised actually mentioned her plot details a little bit. It seems they did do a bit more research than googling and assumptions. So I tip my hat too, a tiny bit. That and it really didn't have the awkward political untones that some of their "jokes" have now.

> Yes but we have to consider that Minecraft....is still sadly the best survival game that has never stayed out of touch nor aged a single bit.Even a few adults have come back with the recent patches(1.13 has been one of the most famous updates) so we are dealing with a huge titan that isn't going to disappear anytime soon.
Wouldn't be able to tell from personal experience but yeah I agree from observation I only have limited experience playing an open source clone called Minetest. I think on top of that, it's a combination of nostalgia and a feeling that it hasn't been as corrupted by the controversy and drama of many things have by this point (at least that's what I've seen some say). Though my brother used to be into a lot of the Minecraft youtubers and he talk endlessly me to me about them, so I have some second hand nostalgia as well. He in fact brought up similar observations.

>Considering that animation by itself is expensive and there are no tools with a free download like Unity for video games,it becomes quite complicated to achieve visual improvements. Flash and maybe Toon Boom could become a relatively cheap method but those times haven't arrived yet
Frankly, I love that he stayed with it because the software has never had the same status and it gives his a pretty distinct look in both the old world of flash and the new world of Toon Boom.

>. Still,this report is what would come in the /go/ thread and when I saw this in EQD,I asked myself if you had known about it....and it seems that you were a fan all along.
Yep, I discovered it all the way back mid way through 2012. Isn't an absolute favorite but it's always been something that I tried to follow. I could even be somewhat critical, but I love it for some of the same reasons I would be critical (more on that later). It feels nice for it to be here now.

>things over time come back but not because of trends exactly. They simply happen because of traditions or simply writing another page to what was left behind a few years ago.If they have made a coincidence...I don't know how to correlate them but I suppose this chill out times happen because of the excess of politics and other interests arise spontaneously.
I was just freaked out a little for running into several things that brought me back to that year and thinking "it sure feels, for this moment, like 2012."


Anon 07/25/2019 (Thu) 02:07:08 [Preview] No.4403 del
>>4395
>they have become a joke. SJW or the modern left tires me a lot and they repeat the same things over and over without actually thinking about those conclusions.
This pretty much.

>There is a moment when you don't care about what they say about you being a nazi/fascist or whatever the tag that apply to civilized people who don't agree with them,you simply give up because the brain cannot deal with what they ask all the time.
Indeed. Sorry for posting it here though. I really should have put it in /go/ do ta that being still relevant to me trying to gauge the different fandom factions. I've heard that their is some mild drama over SWJs occurring and I need to start monitoring stuff just for the sake of archival and figure things out as possibly draining that could be.

> Be careful with what you wish for. If we are in 2013, then it means that we are getting the two biggest explosions of drama from the fanbase. Your secret plan seems to be that you want to play with violent fire here...
Equestria Girls = Equestria Alien Girls.
Twilicorn = Starlicorn (or in the /end/, Doloricorn).
Yes it is fun.

>>4396
Though this is a shitpost, I can say I agree, we have a whole lotta leaks. And rumors that appeared early on have sometimes turned out way truer than their initial creditably would suggest. ** You still haven't been redpilled on the true threat: (((((((Potatoes))))))).


Anon 07/25/2019 (Thu) 02:07:46 [Preview] No.4404 del
>>4395
>they have become a joke. SJW or the modern left tires me a lot and they repeat the same things over and over without actually thinking about those conclusions.
This pretty much.

>There is a moment when you don't care about what they say about you being a nazi/fascist or whatever the tag that apply to civilized people who don't agree with them,you simply give up because the brain cannot deal with what they ask all the time.
Indeed. Sorry for posting it here though. I really should have put it in /go/ do ta that being still relevant to me trying to gauge the different fandom factions. I've heard that their is some mild drama over SWJs occurring and I need to start monitoring stuff just for the sake of archival and figure things out as possibly draining that could be.

> Be careful with what you wish for. If we are in 2013, then it means that we are getting the two biggest explosions of drama from the fanbase. Your secret plan seems to be that you want to play with violent fire here...
Equestria Girls = Equestria Alien Girls.
Twilicorn = Starlicorn (or in the /end/, Doloricorn).
Yes it is fun.

>>4396
Though this is a shitpost, I can say I agree, we have a whole lotta leaks. And rumors that appeared early on have sometimes turned out way truer than their initial creditably would suggest. You still haven't been redpilled on the true threat: (((((((Potatoes))))))).


Anon 07/25/2019 (Thu) 02:10:16 [Preview] No.4405 del
>>4403
Hmmmmmm. Seems endchan really did briefly freak out for me. Couldn't post my second post, kept getting 500s, 523, 404 on multiple domains, but it seems one got through.


SOMETHING 07/26/2019 (Fri) 19:04:50 [Preview] No.4411 del
>>4402
<thinking that
((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((Carrots))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))


Anon 07/28/2019 (Sun) 18:31:45 [Preview] No.4416 del
>>4402
>Even stumbling upon some key line or moment will likely not ruin or shape perception in the same way a spolier for who the Prince of Winter would.
preventing the spoilers is the most desirable option to pick but if it just happens that anyone stumbles upon those descriptions, then one could use it as a form of premise. In fact, one could set up the expectations for something that anons have seen but you don´t know how they have implemented those spoilers or plot device. Even by not reading anything, I´ve had to search for the poll and take a guess about what could have lead to those ratings and then, it serves me to add a little bit more of discussion that could have not been there.

>It's minor compared to some incidents of the past
absolutely. I do believe that the employee just saw the chance to get rid of that manager, with a good laugh but still with those intentions of omitting the directions.

>It seems they did do a bit more research than googling and assumptions.
he could have used the wiki but reading it is way less fun than binge watching the show. He could have still done that research and spend his free time about acknowledging her role in the show but either way,he has had to show interest for getting to know about her
>I tip my hat too, a tiny bit
>it really didn't have the awkward political untones that some of their "jokes" have now.
that´s a bonus point. Honestly we are all a bit tired of politics and there are politicians who actually leave the charge because politics consumed their own personas as well to the point where you cannot tell when someone is a person or working as a politician. Props for keeping his charge aside for this situation.

>I only have limited experience playing an open source clone called Minetest.
I have played Minecraft on my own for a limited time as well but I don´t know, it´s one of those games that you enjoy watching more than playing it for yourself unless you have a server or group of friends in that world.

>it's a combination of nostalgia and a feeling that it hasn't been as corrupted by the controversy and drama of many things have by this point
you are probably right with that statement. I can´t argue that.

>my brother used to be into a lot of the Minecraft youtubers and he talk endlessly me to me about them, so I have some second hand nostalgia
well, it has served for more as a Youtube game to sell for more video content (as series) than a product to play(not to mention that a few youtubers cut the tedious part in which nothing interesting happens when they go for materials). I do know about a few youtubers but it isn´t something worth mentioning considering the huge amount of them who play it daily/weekly,uploading every little progress to their channels.


Anon 07/28/2019 (Sun) 18:45:43 [Preview] No.4417 del
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>>4402
>the software has never had the same status and it gives his a pretty distinct look in both the old world of flash and the new world of Toon Boom.
yeah, considering that Flash is practically the main method to deliver this kind of content without getting flak for using it. In fact, considering that FiM has shone and proven to the industry that it´s a pretty valid option for running a successful show for an entire decade, there is more respect towards it. It really depends on the art style or the kind of animation that you want to go. MLP has pretty passive spirit that doesn´t require a dynamic animation so...there´s barely any reason to change his way to animate it.

>I discovered it all the way back mid way through 2012. Isn't an absolute favorite but it's always been something that I tried to follow.
understandable. In 2012, MLP didn´t have a huge amount of episodes to judge (let alone the internet connection) and there was barely any serious lore to be based on and considering that bronies would look for more cutting edge or adult material, you would have to go for the fan content. Nowadays, that aspect feels a little bit weird because the show has approached mature morals and plots that weren´t exactly aimed at a young audience all the time.

>I love it for some of the same reasons I would be critical
it´s pretty stupid to judge fan content at the same level because there is a smaller team making it, they have less tools for offering that content and it´s basically directed towards those fans who already love MLP, so the audience is pretty specific. One has to consider the activity behind those projects, the fact that none of this is official but fanfic content made purely for additional entertainment... a few aspects that lead you open your hand more and give him a greater margin of error. It doesn´t mean that´s free of criticism but you know where I am getting at.

>I was just freaked out a little for running into several things that brought me back to that year and thinking "it sure feels, for this moment, like 2012."
surely the biggest deja vu of 2019 for you. All the ingredients were from that era and you probably sensed it because of the fresh discovery towards those franchises.

>>4403
>>4404
>Sorry for posting it here though. I really should have put it in /go/ do ta that being still relevant to me trying to gauge the different fandom factions.
meh,literally nothing has happened. My reaction towards it doesn´t aim at triggered zone at all but more like "Oh, here we go again" mindset that fills me with apathy more than anything else.

>I've heard that their is some mild drama over SWJs occurring and I need to start monitoring stuff just for the sake of archival and figure things out as possibly draining that could be.
if you are willing to consume yourself for it, go ahead but don´t get surprised whenever you talk about this topic again in the future and for some reason, getting instantly tired about it. On one hoof, one has to care because they influence on the world (especially in the entertainment industry) but if it wasn´t because of that influence, I wouldn´t have spent so much time discussing about this. The fatigue comes into my body pretty often despite saying a lot of words about them.

>Equestria Alien Girls.
I am predicting a lot of memes about the Area 51 event. EQG has had its last special this weekend so unless they renew the spin off with an awful art direction, we are not getting that this year unfortunately.

>Starlicorn (or in the /end/, Doloricorn).
imagine if that actually happened in the finale. Bonus points if we see any bridge in the backgrounds while making screencaps.


Anon 07/28/2019 (Sun) 18:55:17 [Preview] No.4418 del
>>4404
>we have a whole lotta leaks. And rumors that appeared early on have sometimes turned out way truer than their initial creditably would suggest.
as if the fanbase didn´t get leaks before. The most important one happened in 2017 with the movie which could have hurt a little bit the sales and the hype for it. It shows that Discovery Family, unlike Nickelodeon or Cartoon Network, doesn´t own this show and Hasbro cares very little about airing the series at one specific channel (despite giving to DF more popularity that it has had before having the rights to air FiM). The benefits of this franchise, either they have been additional benefits than the initial plan, or it simply doesn´t represent the main source of income to squeeze the series (so the toys are what truly matter in the end, as if we didn´t know the true nature of this show beforehand).

>>4405
>Seems endchan really did briefly freak out for me.Couldn't post my second post, kept getting 500s, 523, 404 on multiple domains, but it seems one got through.
we are back to Spring 2018, when the website decides randomly when you can access or post in a thread. The most common one is the 500 domain as always but that double post is the translation of the inconsistent period from the servers.


Anon 07/29/2019 (Mon) 16:11:30 [Preview] No.4419 del
And here we go again,giving my thoughts about Rainbow Roadtrip with your posts. I have finally given it a 2nd try today:
>>4331
>It wasn't quite the tone that I expected. It felt like a different tonal style than the show.
the plot is barebones compared to what we have been used to reviewing in these two threads. It doesn´t only remind of the first two seasons but also it translates everything that defined gen 3 into this world. What you would have expected from this franchise in the 2000s, this special,while having the mane 6 that we all know, feels like it comes straight from that era.

>Very simple, like a storybook.It wasn't bad, but I'm not sure if I could say it was a bit disappointing.
if you saw the storybook thread, it summed up everything about this plot with very few pages. All that Kim Beyer had to do with it was adding a little bit of comedy and moments that don´t add up much to the plot but still move it forward. This special could have lasted a few minutes less and we would have got the exact same results. Sure, the plot flows organically and there are moments when the mane 6 show their usual traits but it really drags at times. It´s absolutely predictable as soon as you see the problem and the colors coming back to Hope Hollow. The story is one dimensional like the movie did but unlike the latter, this story gets stuck into one place and after the first 20 minutes, you could expect the rest and skip it without missing anything relevant, there isn´t any other layer of depth out there to judge save what you see instantly. All the interactions and solutions follow different routes for the same objective but those interactions don´t pay off as much as I would like to enjoy. It has grown on me a little bit on the 2nd watch and for sure it felt truly comfy as you say, you get a sense of charm with Hope Hollow after you warm up to it (after leaving my expectations aside because of the Toon Boom animation)

>Core moral I think is great too. Just wish their was a bit more with that mystery tensing
this special barely had any sort of announcements beforehand. Only a little ad during the previous week before airing it and that was it. If they didn´t make a toyline about the students, I wouldn´t have much hope for a toyline about this (unless they decided to drop a Twilight´s toy with the rainbow wings).
About the message, I believe that it puts the special on a higher note. Basically,while written in a pretty simple manner, it tells to the kids that saying hello and interacting with each other to those who are close to you in the place where you are living, all that effort leads to less pain and it implies a brighter path to live your life. I didn´t see that at first because of my expectations and I was too blind to consider this but it´s pretty obvious that the closer that ponies get to interact together, the more happiness they´ve got.

I must say that this special would have served as a standard Disney film without the villain song in the 2nd or 3rd act and the mystery was completely vanished after they met Sunny Skies with his song.


Anon 07/29/2019 (Mon) 16:29:10 [Preview] No.4420 del
>>4331
>I find the hopeless magic interesting.
it certainly represents a form of disharmony from the ponies themselves. This question shouldn´t be all that much of a mystery considering the events of Return of Harmony and the sad version of Pinkie Pie turning into Pinkamena in a couple of episodes, losing her vibrant energetic attitude.

>How did this town not get any help? It may not be too insane actually.Though newer seasons have often made the world feel smaller we must remember that Equestria has been portrayed with large areas of questionable law and order (Diamond Dog gags a day's walk from ponyville anyone?) and plenty of smaller towns.
keep in mind that this could have served as a 2nd movie for the big screen. This plot only works when you know nothing about the franchise so only the mane 6 get to shine and the place and ponies that we meet here are new for literally everyone. Equestria is a big continent but I agree that it feels smaller considering the recent seasons. This doubt makes me raise the question if these events could have happened in earlier seasons (without taking into account Trixie and Dolores in the first scene at the background)

>I thought the mane 6 would have some kind of rainbow designs happen to'em based on the promos and toys.
nope, it seems that the promo showed Twilight with Rainbow wings because of the clothes that Kerfuffle designed for them. Only the rainbow colors were applied for Twilight´s

>Opening intro and first song weak, Living in Color was just fine
I have different views towards that. I agree with the weak intro butI appreciate more The End of the Rainbow because of the spoken word style while Living in Color, it´s really generic (maybe too cheesy because the singing voices don´t stop with the higher notes) for me, they could have used an emotional piano track for the background music while getting a few emotional lines between the characters. I am not really fond with it but whoever wants to shout Living in Color to the four winds,go ahead in the brony conventions but don´t ask me to do that. *rolls eyes*

>>4382
>This one is more questionable. Do I hate it? No
it´s impossible to hate it but I cannot love it as much as /mlp/ did when it aired

>I fully expected this to be off in some way do to the fact that it is essentially a movie theater production that was downgraded to a TV special.
considering that we have a second part with the Toon Boom animation, one would have expected something more unique in comparison but if it managed to be a movie production, I wouldn´t praise it that much and it would fall in a generic territory. It only needed 30 minuted more to reach the movie´s length and there have been cinema releases that have gone through cheaper methods for the sequels. Even by getting rid of my expectations, I cannot classify as something noteworthy or as positive as it sounded with this style

>I was surprised by how simple and straight forward it was. I was expecting their would be a little more in terms of what was going on. I was expecting something perhaps a little stranger
the movie went into a straight forward route just that it went from one place to another, feeling fresh all the time and when the plot ended up in Canterlot, it actually felt like you had been in a trip(varied emotions and places).The plot device that comes up to my head for this special is the Cutie Map but without a villain nor any sort of mystery for spending a few neurons for guessing games. It´s pretty direct and exposes every problem in the first twenty minutes, feeling flat for an entire hour of animation. The storybook even sums it up better with less pages, so the writer has had to add up artificially more situations at a slow pace so it would justify the promised length. There is very little that you can miss as I said before and I am trying to discuss it as if this special was somewhat interesting but there isn´t much out there to talk about


Anon 07/29/2019 (Mon) 16:49:26 [Preview] No.4421 del
>>4382
>What little we knew seemed to suggest a mystery plot of some kind, and I was expecting some type of rainbow magic to be in play.So I will say that I am slightly disappointed.
I was simply expecting that we had more places to visit because I assumed that the Roadtrip name was about visiting a few places and finding harmony for little situations everywhere they go. But nope, it´s just Hope Hollow, whose design feels like a simplified Ponyville and an easier town to spot its buildings.

>The first 15 minutes have a bit of a spooky vibe of something amiss going on and a sense of adventure that just kind of fades into slice of life.
yeah, the direction clashes a little bit and the scenery that appeared during the balloon trip looked like we were going for a rollercoaster or something that required more attention to the unknown.

>Think about it. Early in production your budget is cut and you have to wrap it up in a timely manner. Of course you'd go with a simple stripped down plot without too much conflict. In fact, under that idea, it almost is an achievement how clean it and smooth flowing it is compared to other projects that have met such fates.
well, if we go under that interpretation, it´s quite impressive that it has managed to combine both ways without feeling too awkward but those first moments in the special didn´t help to encourage that mindset.

>this certainly isn't what I'd expect from something that was intended for the big screen. I wonder what the original script was like.
I will only point out that they have reused the assets they had and at little moment, the Toon Boom artstyle almost made a symbiosis with the Flash animation, feeling like you were watching both because of the character contours. However, that´s not the most obvious case because a blue Big Mac showed up in Hope Hollow.

>Their was still a lot of elements I liked of this. The hopeless magic, the machine, even the new townsponies. But it feels those elements are undercooked. This cake was taken out of the oven too early.6.5/10.
eeeyup, that´s my rating for this special as well for the 2nd watch. At first, I rated it in the strawpoll with a 5/10 because while my thoughts haven´t changed all that much, it has grown on me a little bit and I have left the expectations aside. Still, while the new characters are charming and the town has its distinctive looks, I cannot help but feeling a little bit bored because of its generic plot and how it painfully tries to drag and put subtle padding by slowing down the pace in order to make this special different from the rest. However, I have watched much more meat with 22 minutes than this.

>Is it just me? Or does the tone of this special feel... tamer than even Season 1 at times midway through. I can't even say that as a complaint on its own, just an observation.
because this special seems to compile every aspect that gen 3 had. What you could have imagined from that gen, it was translated here but with the quality of FiM. Most likely this tame spirit is what prevents me from scratching anything interesting to discuss and feels like an average production despite its amazing visual and a quite good message to deliver at kids. It´s perfectly serviceable and it works for entertaining them but there isn´t much depth to analyze nor worth noting here if we take it seriously.


Anon 07/29/2019 (Mon) 16:57:54 [Preview] No.4422 del
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It feels like I am a little bit the contrarian this time. The special didn´t offer to me what The Best Gift Ever did back in October.

I suppose that they rated it highly because of the lack of new characters from recent seasons and the comfy feels that it has brought in comparison to the rest of the recent material. Some people are truly nostalgic about the 1st season but even then, it feels even simpler than that. I rated it with a 5 out 10 and then, the 6.5 seems a fair score after the 2nd try but it still falls under the standard DVD that you would put to your kids for spending one afternoon with them.


Anon 07/30/2019 (Tue) 16:25:39 [Preview] No.4424 del
Well, I´ve just rewatched for sure the easiest episode that I am commenting out of these three: Between Dark and Dawn.

>>4379
>what did I think of Episode 13?
It´s awesome. I could end my thoughts right here.

>That it maybe my favorite of the season so far (well almost, a certain trio of villains come to mind).
Frenemies is really hard to beat considering that it wasn´t in our expectations at all and delivering a slice of life story with them. The princesses have had episodes of that kind but we didn´t get such a carefree spirit as this episode brings onto the table.

> I think the thematic of Celly and Luna's sisterhood problem felt stronger to me than in A Royal Problem.
A Royal Problem was focused more on the empathy of both for their own jobs. Notice how elitist they were when they changed their positions, claiming who was the best sister at doing such activity. It was detoured a little bit because of the reveal of their dark sides. Here however, they don´t show that.They get rid of their duties and go as any other average tourist for vacations because of the consumption from their jobs. This might not sound interesting as one could expect but that change of dynamic really suited them. All those fans who drew and wrote about the royal sisters doing cute simple things must have had a blast watching this....but not only those can get that pleasure because in general, this episode screams pure fun and a chill out time.

>The pacing was fine, even with them taking a little while to start the main plot. The pre plot of gag of Luna and Celestia helping everypony left and right was fun (even if it possibly softly breaks season 1 and season 2 implications). That ending though was especially strong!
I do believe that the pacing was perfect. I may sound biased because I watched Rainbow Roadtrip yesterday for a 2nd time and you don´t know how much I appreciate this format after watching the special. I thought that Twilight consumed a little bit too much the run time but it was justified for her arc so I take it as a quick subplot, not to mention that the comedy doesn´t stop at all without the sisters. All the actions happen with proper timing, there is not padding here and for the simple plot that it was, everything went smoothly (especially how the song has a little reprise by toning it down in order to show the lack of fun that both were getting by accomplishing the list) but still quick at the same time.

You are mentioning the introduction and from the start, you can expect really funny lines along the way. The royal sisters must have been bored all this time because helping Granny Smith to cross the street without any traffic... well, they sure don´t get tired of doing anything (especially Celestia, the eagerness of this lady is reminiscent of Pinkie Pie, no wonder she likes to troll the mane 6 for a little bit of fun despite the mess)

>Final rating: 9.5/10
definitely in the top 5 of this season so far.


Anon 07/30/2019 (Tue) 16:46:28 [Preview] No.4425 del
>>4379
>I am really curious on that amulet. We don't really get much information on it despite seeing it in use. They said they put a small amount of their power in the amulet. Does that mean it doesn't take much of their power to raise the sun/moon? That seems strange.
their cutie marks are the sun and the moon and probably that task is done as any other mundane work. If you remember A Royal Problem, Celestia was surprised that she raised the moon with so much ease and it was the first time that she did that after her sister came back in season 1. They have a huge amount of magic and the only have to use their horns for a little while in order to do that.

>it would go with the idea that it really is tied more to a special spell relating to their cutie marks over a feat of power, but most things we've seen contradicted this that I can recall.
basically that theory is what I would answer here. Despite discussing about two big characters in terms of power and relatively unanswered backstories, this doesn´t seem to bother that much to them, not that the fanabse has made drama around it. You are forgetting that they have wanted a carefree time because of how monotone their daily lives are. What is extraordinary for all the ponies, it becomes ordinary for these two.... and that includes raising both the sun and the moon.

>whether you take it as the pillars or every unicorn in existence who used to raise and lower the sun/moon, it is still an entire race/several very powerful ponies needed to do what Celestia/Luna did on their own.
yeah but even the most powerful ponies like Starswirl would also get bored and automatize the process of raising and lowering such iconic stars in the end. While it´s true that not everyone is able to do that stuff, those might have done wouldn´t say that it´s very interesting in the long run.

>I could nerd out at this for hours, but ultimately, unless it plays a part later on, it may just be a one off magical object/line that would be questionable to apply to everything. This is not a complaint against the episode at all though.
it most likely serves as one off object. FiM also plays with the mystical objects for the mundane plots. For example, in Triple Threat, the map of Harmony trolled Spike by saying that he had a task to do in Ponyville and it meant nothing but the problem that he had had all the time with Thorax and Ember. However, the show sometimes decides to give more depth to something that we didn´t bother all that much in the first place. Writers are twisted for what they want and other times, they play with the lore for literally nothing. Considering the nature of this episode, the amulet served for one final joke and end the episode with the full circle, with the princesses going back to Canterlot.


Anon 07/30/2019 (Tue) 17:20:32 [Preview] No.4426 del
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>>4379
>Twilight Sparkle and her friends have already overseen summits and events larger than this plenty of times before. Her worries over the sun and moon are perfectly understandable though. This is more of an observation than any kind of negative remark.
yeah. The only justifiable answer that I can give to your question is that the writers wanted to make a little bit fun of her while trying to solve how it works. In fact, all the tasks were accomplished except that one because of her obsession, giving one more spin to it that it should.

>Luna has never used the post office? That seems pretty basic thing to miss out on. Then again, the royal sisters use scrolls, so I guess it could work.
what is ordinary for some, it´s exotic and unusual for others. They have been so accommodated to getting the letters with magic that sending them via post officer is just a fresh thing for them, especially for Luna. However, the message goes beyond that because we can see how Luna gets really excited about it. It´s so ridiculous that she values the process of sending the letter than the objective or content that appears in it.

I could even go a little bit far with this little scene and maybe the writers have used this (really subtle) as a weapon to criticize the instant actions with the technology while we are not appreciating the work behind it. However, I highly doubt it because this episode was aimed to a chill out mentality this time.

>>4380
>Only complaint that I saw that I could even partly agree with was the faces that were used a few times looked off. I think the princesses less circular heads make some of these faces less appealing than on the average pony (well, mare anyway). It was too small to factor into my rating however, and it certainly wasn't a prominent as some made it out to be. Mainly with Celestia.
those faces only appeared for a couple of minutes in the first third. After they leave Canterlot, I don´t recall seeing them. That´s a valid complain and you are not the only one who has pointed out this detail. Several users of /mlp/ had mixed reactions towards this but that criticism is palpable enough to understand those concerns, unlike mindless episodes of drama.

>>4381
>And the song was pretty good too. Though I was pretty distracted by all the random ponies/others out on this on grassy trail just doing random stuff.
those bits of the song represent all the world that we know and the places that they can visit freely with this opportunity. See how it compiles all the species (dragons, changelings, hippogriffs...) and locations of potential interest, especially in the part of that gif which you have posted here. It´s distracting but it serves its purpose to show how much they have been missing by staying in their thrones most of the time, without getting any sort of fresh air on their lives.


Anon 07/30/2019 (Tue) 17:33:03 [Preview] No.4427 del
well,episode 14 is airing officially in the US next Saturday. I have finally reviewed the special and Between Dark and Dawn before the deadline. I´ve picked these two episodes first because they don´t require all that much of effort in comparison (they are solid ground for any review) to one last episode of the first half:

eeeyup, The Last Crusade. I see myself struggling a lot for this one and this could end up in several directions. I´ve got to give it another try and focus properly on it.

As for now, I am posting a really cute gif for a top tier closer of the first half.


Anon 08/02/2019 (Fri) 09:34:09 [Preview] No.4432 del
And finally, as I did with the other two episodes, my thoughts about The Last crusade are getting posted by replying to the unanswered posts of it.

>>4287
>Where do I begin? I don't know how to put this because after seeing it twice now I cannot believe how much I am of a mixed mind on this.
The wisest line that one can say for reviewing this, ten out of ten for saying that. No seriously it is, even by reviewing it with a cold headed mindset, it´s kind of complicated where to put this episode, hence I reviewed the other two before because of the easier difficulty for me.

>the plot at it's most basic conceptional level I do not hate at all.
eeeyup, it definitely doesn´t change the formula of writing a CMC episode. In fact, it´s the most traditional structure that anyone can apply to them: plot device-> problem-> the CMC come up with a few ideas-> they fail at trying any of them with jokes along the road-> in the last five 5 minute or so, the real resolution is made and ends the episode with a satisfying note for them. Nothing here sounds particularly strange here so far and I have noticed this structure better with the 2nd try.

>Scootaloo's aunts
>no problem with as characters in the slightest. They seem, alright, even pretty likable and charming. The who Lesbian thing is being blow out of proportion for sure. It is a nonfactor to the story at all. That's the problem though, all the media yamering and people angry over it when the show staff have shipped Lyra and Bon Bon for years and way more explicitly. These characters being the first pairing officially cannon like that would certainly rub a lot of people the wrong way outside the Corporate pandering praise and people worried about "gay agendas"

honestly, you have made a much better review than I would ever have made because that same reason of an agenda could lead to /pol/ thoughts that the show staff fuels indirectly because of the Twitter posts instead of the episode itself. I agree that they don´t look like a lesbian pairing, one could mistake them as sisters even. There are no clear mannerisms that makes you point out that they actually are....except for social media.
Besides LyraBon, they also showed an implied gay pairing in Triple Threat sitting together in a restaurant so the aunts of Scootaloo come without any novelty at all. As you say, the problem with the aunts doesn´t come from the characters themselves but more from the staff who scream to the four winds as if that was something to be proud of. If we were in the 1950s/60s era of animation, maybe this would have stood out as an avant garde movement but we are living in 2019....and basically almost all the cartoons have done that in this decade, let alone mainstream media in general.

>If they were going to do anything that was actually noteworthy with that it should've been with one of the other pairings. They didn't do anything noteworthy at all. They just appeared and the only way we know they are lesbian is because it was told to us. I can understand frustration with that on its own but I don't hold against th characters here. I and am extremely socially conservative in personal values, and I find all this whining about it, celebratory or against it a waste of time. Who cares, it's a complete nonfactor.
these lines are golden. After getting into the episode for real, I do believe that this is one of your best reviews that you have written so far. I cannot disagree on anything here to be honest. Let´s see the rest because the aunts is the least of the problems here. Moving onto the meat of the episode....


Anon 08/02/2019 (Fri) 10:02:01 [Preview] No.4433 del
>>4287
>It was okay... I think. I thought the CMC were fine here and enjoyed their anttics.
without focusing on any drama or prejudices here, it is indeed the average CMC episode that we have had for this entire decade. Nothing sort of amazing nor an atrocity. By these standards, one could rate this episode with a 6-7/10 easily, without having much to talk here.

>I tried to picture myself with all the current factors what the writing staff would do if this was the last episode of the CMC or the last one focued one CMC itself, mayb not the last CMC as characters I can see the choices made with trying tie in Scootaloo's family question with one last cameo from all of them and in that sense it felt satisfactory. It felt kind of /comfy/ tbh.
yeah, that cameo was probably one of the most unexpected part of this episode. I didn´t believe that all of the previous characters could get reunited just to cherish the CMC for all that they have done. I come from the future and while it´s not the last episode that the CMC will have (the leaks´ premises surely tell a lot), it makes sense and it feels rewarding that all those accomplishments were there for Scoot´s parents to notice, wrapping up the CMC´s arc in this generation.It feels heartwarming and it could induce to strong nostalgic feelings for a while.

>At least DT got to wave... better than I can say for Babs Seed, who was just a background pony.
yeah, it´s really weird that after all these seasons without getting any line since Season 5, she has come back for this moment. Clearly her arc ended as soon as she began to appreciate the CMC, the writers wouldn´t come up with any plot device for her.

>It would've been interesting to have had this whole multiple ponies taking care of Scootaloo thing revealed earlier! Doesn't a Scootaloo with somepony like Rarity sound like an interesting setting?
ask the writers why they didn´t decide do to go for that route. In fact, the fact that she has lived mostly alone all this time makes you wonder if she could have had issues of loneliness. Imagine if Rainbow doesn´t look for her all the time. I believe that this problem is partially solved because of Scootaloo´s strong impetus and aspirations.

>I love the photo development room.
yeah, that moment felt a little bit weird to reference. As if Metal Gear Solid wasn´t enough, here we have got a little haunting moment by parodying either the 13 Reasons Why announcements or some sort of horror game. I cannot say which one exactly though.

>But...
however, at what cost does this happen? Not a good one, in fact, lots of questions arise and those ratings of 6 and/or 7 can lead to...well, this poll again right here. I am posting this with all the votes and for once, I understand perfectly why one would become confused (I still am to an extent), especially after watching it for the first time.


Anon 08/02/2019 (Fri) 10:33:06 [Preview] No.4434 del
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>>4288
>Scootaloo's parents I feel the most mixed on.
who doesn´t feel like that? I was struggling to watch the episode because of them and how the episode is driven by their appearance.

>On the one hoof, what would we be complaining about if we never saw her parents Their would be butthurt over it and I understand them trying to tie a loose end.
I don't hate them and this episode taken as a vacuum, I don't think thy are that bad.
even by not acting with all that bad will or any sort of malice in their attitudes, the context and the way the episode introduces them for a plot device makes you feel as if they are villains.

>you could complain of arbitrariness but I think their was more than a random logic in making them these adventurer researchers. It does fit in a way. They were in Ponyville to study the Everfree forest, when they found most everything they could there, they left for more dangerous places and didn't feel comfortable bringing their daughter.
whihc is why one doesn´t see them as bad characters but the context and the way this episode is executed makes you believe that they only care about their own interests but they do care about Scootaloo as well. There is nothing wrong that her parents want to spend more time together working on what they want to do.In fact, Scootaloo had a lot of excitement towards that until she was told to leave Ponyville despite her actions to avoid it.

>I think it could've been a glories opportunity with Scootaloo's implied disabilities that she has parents who are quite outdoors man adventurers, but now that almost feels like a wasted opportunity.
not only wasted but quite disappointing at bringing up a superficial cliché of: "Parents not understanding their kids because of X reasons". Hollywood usually makes movies about parents having to work and not caring enough about their kids, causing a conflict and creating an artificial misunderstood situation, always putting the kid in the right side and putting the father as some sort of antagonist because of bringing money to his family. The funniest part of all is that when that father is about to sign (his biggest desire) a multimillionaire contract that would make his company rich at the end of the movie, he has a sudden realization of leaving it behind because he has to support his kid in the final baseball match and for some reason, whenever the father appear, the kid does a home run,his team magically wins and that gesture from the his father is why one makes America proud.

Alright, I was laughing a little bit whole I was writing this but I cannot deny that these kind of plots devices are somewhat dreary to me. This cliché doesn´t happen in this episode in an overblown way but I expose it just to show how American writers apply this trend quite often (especially in the 90s and 2000s), exposing the father or parents as the villains when there is a lack of time or any sort of comprehension between both. This becomes apparent when Scootaloo´s parents only focus on their part but do not show enough empathy towards Scootaloo´s point of view. This conflict happens over and over until Scootaloo decides to go to the train station. What makes this situation more pleasant are the antics and comedy that happen all the time. Fortunately, FiM still manages to not to take itself too seriously when Rainbow appears when the CMC are crying with the 3 tickets or Zecora´s potion. So it wasn´t all that bad to watch in practice but it´s pretty disappointing in concept.


Anon 08/02/2019 (Fri) 11:09:51 [Preview] No.4435 del
>>4288
>Their is part of these characters though that feel a little fanficish and possibly a little cheap. It feels like "see Scootaloo had awesome parents this whole time!" I'm not sure I'm willing to go that far, but I wouldn't blame those who felt that way.
not only awesome, they seem to awesome for what they do. I don´t like using the buzzword of "Mary Sue" all that much but when all of a sudden, their introduction feels like they are perfect and have no flaws except for caring about Scootaloo....clashes a little bit the two sides of my brain. How do you manage to make me feel like they are more perfect and adventurous than Celestia and Luna combined or even the mane 6? How do you manage to do all those huge achievements and know all that stuff about monsters? How weren´t they introduced before in a heavy lore plot?

>one issue that I can't hold fully against them is that they weren't introduced before this, though it does feel like they are a bit too late to be used well. I'm not sure they would have been the same characters...
agreed with the too late line. I understand that they wanted to compile all the stuff that CMC has done before while introducing her parents but is the way to combine them for one single episode?

>Is this irreconcilable? Not quite, but it isn't something that fits perfectly either.
which would drive to a few anons to think that writers don´t watch the previous episodes. How are they awesome in the class´exposition while Scootaloo was claiming that no one had helped her to have a role model or values to get from any master?

>It could be grafted on about her not having somepony to support in the sense that she has her parents absent but it feels of a darker context in episode. I can see the case of feeling like they just popped outta nowhere and just feel inconsistent with the whole arc. I also can understand the disappointment in some if this does turn out to be the last CMC episode, though I'm of a mixed mind if I share it or not.
it´s not the last so don´t worry about that part. However, you have just pointed out why, despite showing the cast that the CMC have helped over the series, the subtlety that the series was building up towards Scootaloo´s parents doesn´t pay off that well. I would compare it to Newbie Dash, in which the previous material has a smaller value in the definitive episode and everything ends up in a quite average plot to pull off. All that foreshadowing, those little details that would drive you to a headcanon of being orphan or having a past to not be proud of is gone with the difference that these headcanons were implied in the show, unlike the stories of background ponies in the early seasons. So now that we have seen the parents, that direction has disappeared but even without those headcanons, it feels somewhat unrewarding to introduce them like this.

>I'm been split from giving this as high as an 8 to as low as a 5. I feel the most of the issues ar around the episode rather than within, but I'm of a mixed mind on some aspects.
mostly this. A standard CMC in practice and definitely not an atrocity by itself, or at least, you wouldn´t notice it while watching it with a lax watch. However, the context brings the rating down and whenever you scratch a little with the previous material, this episode ends up with a pretty disappointing note for long time viewers that have followed Scootaloo´s arc and has focused on her traits towards her insecurities.

>Especially if this was the last Cutie Mark Cusaders episode focused on the arch of their jobs. Though it could be not. I withhold my rating for now, as I feel completely split.
even after a month and a half, I am still somewhat split and while I have had an easier time reviewing it than expected because your review is quite down to earth finding little to nothing to point out in addition to your view, I cannot wrap up my mind with a complete conviction or rating towards this episode.


Anon 08/02/2019 (Fri) 11:47:50 [Preview] No.4436 del
>>4294
>I mean really, I have never felt so spit.
understandable and I emphasize with that. Despite the length of the special, I have had a much clearer mindset towards episode 13 and Rainbow Roadtrip as I have mentioned several times, becoming much easier to review than this episode but, what should one think about this in the end? The conflict shown in that episode was really simple and one would laugh at us for thinking too much about this premise but it´s so confusing at the same time because of its context that the laughs become background noises.

>it's pretty stupid. I don't like how it was pandered for pride month in media circles and /pol/'s hatred all the same.
I blame both sides. One cannot downvote the episode by itself but a part of my mind, leads you to do so because the staff and the fanbase (part of it) circlejeks lead to an artificial drama that one has set aside,forcing more effort from the reviewer while dealing with this episode.

>I;m not sure how this random couple over Lyra and Bon Bon or Octavia and Vinyl Scratch makes much sense. From what I hear it was the writers who requested it. it could easily be a calculated risk on Hasbro's part
whatever but calling it a risk,really?In the West?in 2019?I don´t know what´s worse: making it a huge deal or make it seem as a brave movement from the staff.Honestly this topic bores e a little bit because there is nothing deep nor productive to deal with over here.

>Figuring the social environment was safe enough that they get some protection from the twitter mobs and just never accepted (or writers ever thought they could get it through) before with the others. Oh well, shiping straight or otherwise I have never cared for. Personally though I think I like the aunts tbh.
well, the aunts don´t bother me at all. Although now that I think about it again, how many lesbian pictures are there on Derpi?Nearly 78k pics, beating Spike´s tag.That and countless threads about pairing characters at random so I suppose the fanbase got what it has been asking for.

>it skews more positive in opinion in some of the other corners. I have seen fair bit questioning the parents.
with the 2nd watch, I have had more positive views because I have checked that it´s pretty much a fairly standard CMC episode so by itself, it doesn´t bring much room to ruin it or make it more interesting.


Anon 08/02/2019 (Fri) 11:50:37 [Preview] No.4437 del
>>4294
>Part of me feels what would they have done with the parents and there certainly would be people butthurt if they never showed up.
this right here is why the episode becomes really hard to judge, especially if Scootaloo´s parents only introduce themselves just in this episode, without further explanations on other aspects.

>I think they did show up too late to be great, and the absence seems a bit long. I'm not sure how you could judge them inuniverse or not.
I mostly forgot about them or grew to become indifferent towards Scootaloo´s issues on her family because of the students, the mane 6 and other secondary characters that have received screentime to focus on them. This episode however, made me care about them again and spark a few questions that were flawed beforehand. FiM plays better with subtle stories, not direct ones. Unlike AJ´s parents or Terramar´s, this episode doesn´t connect me emotionally with them in any form, making me think that they have acted as necessary antagonists for this episode in order to pull the premise off.

>though I enjoyed watching it. Part of me feels like that if I tried to put myself in somonee's shoes and write it would it be much different in the basic goals?Yet I can see threads of logic where I could be disappionted all the same.
it´s certainly enjoyable but I have felt lazy towards it because of how discouraging is to judge each layer that surrounds it, spinning your head more than usual.

>storms certainly can be /confy/
eeeyup, especially the ones that happen during the afernoon and the sun appears clears it during the dusk.

>maybe with a little fixing up,I can meme him so hard he gets to be in G5!Laughs maniacally
don´t get surprised if I post these replies >>4431 every now and then.


Anon 08/09/2019 (Fri) 21:47:02 [Preview] No.4457 del
>>4416
>>4417
>>4418
>preventing the spoilers is the most desirable option to pick but if it just happens that anyone stumbles upon those descriptions, then one could use it as a form of premise. In fact, one could set up the expectations for something that anons have seen but you don´t know how they have implemented those spoilers or plot device. Even by not reading anything, I´ve had to search for the poll and take a guess about what could have lead to those ratings and then, it serves me to add a little bit more of discussion that could have not been there.
True. In fact that almost sounds a little fun being lightly spoliered and knowing a tinybit of the fan reaction. A little game if you will. Only thing it may not apply to is if something truly big happens (A character is killed off, Dolores crosses the bridge into alicornhood, Discord is the one secretly pulling the strings).

>Honestly we are all a bit tired of politics and there are politicians who actually leave the charge because politics consumed their own personas as well to the point where you cannot tell when someone is a person or working as a politician
It's all so tired and done. I mean really, most of late night has gone from being somewhat left wing to various degrees to outright just a left wing current affairs program with jokes on the side. And what the right has brought to the table just feels the same way to me. I'm not saying I don't mind having something that leans towards my sensibilities but the real power of the pre 2010 left was subtlety. A lot of times it would be just tiny jabs, jokes or plotlines as oppose to hyperbole (Not saying it didn't exist). Basically, I wouldn't mind right leaning stuff if it could remember it was entertainment first.

>Nowadays, that aspect feels a little bit weird because the show has approached mature morals and plots that weren´t exactly aimed at a young audience all the time.
Now this statement feels weird to me. I see your point. Has the greater lore of the show dropped the need for mor adult fan content? I don't know, I'm a bit scatter brained with it. My mind is looking at so many aspects I don't know what to say. Let's just say I have a different perspective but I can see that be true for part of the fanbase. I'll get back to ya on that one (maybe in /go/).

>a few aspects that lead you open your hand more and give him a greater margin of error. It doesn´t mean that´s free of criticism but you know where I am getting at.
Indeed, though their are somethings that I do wonder I should be critical about by the standards of by other fanworks. Not hate, but I consider it more mid-tier with it's voice acting and animation. As I said, some of that wonkyness is also endearing.

>surely the biggest deja vu of 2019 for you. All the ingredients were from that era and you probably sensed it because of the fresh discovery towards those franchises.
Pretty much.

>if you are willing to consume yourself for it, go ahead but don´t get surprised whenever you talk about this topic again in the future and for some reason, getting instantly tired about it. On one hoof, one has to care because they influence on the world (especially in the entertainment industry)
I will track and make a post in /go/ as notiation but it probably won't be worthy to talk. Just remember in case it has an affect on MLP in someway later on.

>we are back to Spring 2018, when the website decides randomly when you can access or post in a thread. The most common one is the 500 domain as always but that double post is the translation of the inconsistent period from the servers.
Yeah we are fully back. I can barely post and keep getting 500 errors or pic related on various domains. I fact it looks like I'm going to be interrupted so I'll try to finish later tonight. Stay safe /endpone/!


Anon 08/10/2019 (Sat) 04:54:25 [Preview] No.4458 del
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>>4419
>the plot is barebones compared to what we have been used to reviewing in these two threads. It doesn´t only remind of the first two seasons but also it translates everything that defined gen 3 into this world. What you would have expected from this franchise in the 2000s, this special,while having the mane 6 that we all know, feels like it comes straight from that era.
>if you saw the storybook thread, it summed up everything about this plot with very few pages. All that Kim Beyer had to do with it was adding a little bit of comedy and moments that don´t add up much to the plot but still move it forward.
Here is my fears and what could factor the most over how I consider it's legacy. I'm seen some rise the concerns with this aspect that Hasbro may have decided to go the passive rout with future mlp stuff. Soft and tame. Upon rewatch I really really feel the gen3 feel. If it was just do to cut budget and them making something simple for time, then I just see it as unfortunate and not necessarily that I ould hold against them too much. If it's do to directives from above than that would negative tint on it all for me.

>>4420
>it certainly represents a form of disharmony from the ponies themselves. This question shouldn´t be all that much of a mystery considering the events of Return of Harmony and the sad version of Pinkie Pie turning into Pinkamena in a couple of episodes, losing her vibrant energetic attitude.
I see it as something that could have had a lot of potential even on it's own without a villain (though it probably would've been better with one). What if they kept a bit of spookiness and made all of them slowly go into they disorded states? What if it was a place Discord messed with that never was corrected all the way back in return of harmony? What if they used it to explore the nature of that magic and how it is a natural force that gets out of wack and that it still has a place? It isn't a bad concept to revisit, just it was solely used as a plot device to get from point A to point B without anything cool. It was just there than gone.

>keep in mind that this could have served as a 2nd movie for the big screen. This plot only works when you know nothing about the franchise so only the mane 6 get to shine and the place and ponies that we meet here are new for literally everyone.
Considering how barebones it was I wonder what the original concept was. That'd be nuts to have something this straightforward as the plot, considering the first 15 to 20 minuets and the title and rainbow pony toy push my initial thoughts were that this had to be cut down. However, it wouldn't be impossible that Hasbro may have actually chose this route. Isn't the person that was hired to oversee gen 5 a former marketing exec? It seems I heard something like that.

>nope, it seems that the promo showed Twilight with Rainbow wings because of the clothes that Kerfuffle designed for them. Only the rainbow colors were applied for Twilight´s
I want my Rainbow pony powerups!

>it´s impossible to hate it but I cannot love it as much as /mlp/ did when it aired
/mlp/ loved it? I had been out off /mlp/ for most of that week but I saw anons complaining. I guess no Dolores?

>>4421
> It´s perfectly serviceable and it works for entertaining them but there isn´t much depth to analyze nor worth noting here if we take it seriously.
I partly disagree. I think if this becomes a template of the future than their could be some stuff worth looking back on. Not the plot itself but the behind the scenes.

>I was simply expecting that we had more places to visit because I assumed that the Roadtrip name was about visiting a few places and finding harmony for little situations everywhere they go
A reasonable expectation to have.

>But nope, it´s just Hope Hollow, whose design feels like a simplified Ponyville and an easier town to spot its buildings.
Diet ponyville.


>>4422
>It feels like I am a little bit the contrarian this time. The special didn´t offer to me what The Best Gift Ever did back in October.
That i


Anon 08/10/2019 (Sat) 04:58:52 [Preview] No.4459 del
>>4458
That is a very good point to rise. Because that was plot full of tropes but done in a pretty clever way. When comparing the two...

>Some people are truly nostalgic about the 1st season but even then, it feels even simpler than that. I rated it with a 5 out 10 and then, the 6.5 seems a fair score after the 2nd try but it still falls under the standard DVD that you would put to your kids for spending one afternoon with them.
Like it doesn't have the soul of the show. My rating for now still stays 6 and or 6.5/10. Though if the behind the scenes becomes true that this was purposeful I could lower it. If it was rushed by outsiders than I stick to 6.5/10 because when you compare it to other projects in development hell that were cut and rushed, at least they kept it in one coherent whole though if it was complete chaos that could have been more fun to talk about tbh
(I will be posting more in this thread in a day or so but for now I have to tend to something else here...)


Anon 08/10/2019 (Sat) 14:29:17 [Preview] No.4462 del
>>4457
>Only thing it may not apply to is if something truly big happens
except for the finale, I highly doubt that we see some kind of strong reaction towards slice of life episodes. Stuff like Flurry Heart, a redemption or what you have mentioned is what has to happen in order to notice those spoilers so easily.

>It's all so tired and done. I mean really, most of late night has gone from being somewhat left wing to various degrees to outright just a left wing current affairs program with jokes on the side. And what the right has brought to the table just feels the same way to me. I'm not saying I don't mind having something that leans towards my sensibilities but the real power of the pre 2010 left was subtlety. A lot of times it would be just tiny jabs, jokes or plotlines as oppose to hyperbole (Not saying it didn't exist). Basically, I wouldn't mind right leaning stuff if it could remember it was entertainment first.
I get you and I kind of see it here as well. It´s not about offending someone but more like everything is so focused to imposing their political views in public so explicitly when the program shouldn´t be related to it (in theory) and one wonders where is the professionalism or even the variety on TV. I suppose that trend has risen because of social media but well, we are not free of that trend either. I suppose that it will go in cycles sooner or later. But in the end, it´s indeed pretty tiring.

>Has the greater lore of the show dropped the need for more adult fan content? I don't know, I'm a bit scatter brained with it. My mind is looking at so many aspects I don't know what to say. Let's just say I have a different perspective but I can see that be true for part of the fanbase.
I said that because I have noticed that fan animations have received less appeal in paying them attention because of the edgy stuff or adult themes that could be presented in them. That apathy could come from the show itself, delivering much more than expected to the fanbase so when one fan tries to offer something different, it feels like you have had it in the show before.

It´s a pretty good question to analyze but two minds cannot answer everything at the same time when there is new material to approach right now (not to mention the meta situation that /endpone/ has been facing lately)

>I do wonder I should be critical about by the standards of by other fanworks. Not hate, but I consider it more mid-tier with it's voice acting and animation
well, that´s probably a fair balance to it, with a grater focus on the technical part that makes it feel like a complete work (checking if it deserves the green light of watchable material all the way through) and then, if you want to go further, enter into the story or plotholes part. It really depends on what one talks about but that could serve as a generic scheme for judging said content.

>some of that wonkyness is also endearing.
and meme worthy at times.

>Just remember in case it has an affect on MLP in someway later on.
they aren´t going to influence on gen 4 anymore (unless they do it in hindsight). So we are fine for this decade but we will have to deal with those problems for gen 5 unfortunately.However, they have had a golden period to shine and Tumblr put a middle finger to MLP in season 5 so Hasbro should consider what audience should appeal for future content.

However, gen 4 is already written and nothing is going to change that for better or worse.

>Yeah we are fully back. I can barely post and keep getting 500 errors or pic related on various domains.
the good old endchan. How haven´t the owners considered to name this place 500chan? Out of those 4 screens, the only one that I haven´t seen is the purple one while the Internal Server Error is the most common one for me.


Anon 08/10/2019 (Sat) 15:06:43 [Preview] No.4463 del
>>4458
>Here is my fears and what could factor the most over how I consider it's legacy. I'm seen some rise the concerns with this aspect that Hasbro may have decided to go the passive rout with future mlp stuff. Soft and tame.
well, then consider me a fan of the fandom if that happens. I mean I am not against simple or pure slice of life stories. In fact, I have praised The Point of No Return or even enjoyed a lot more Going To Seed despite only occurring in the Sweet Apple Acres. Hell even Between Dusk and Dawn is a more carefree episode than this special and it easily enters in the top 5 of the first half.

What Hasbro doesn´t get is that the setup doesn´t only sell the show but what you do with the ingredients for engaging the viewer. You can have all the superheroes like Marvel has and make the movie truly boring or you can write about two/three characters interacting in a mundane way between themselves and make it entertaining/rewarding all the way through.

>Upon rewatch I really really feel the gen3 feel. If it was just do to cut budget and them making something simple for time, then I just see it as unfortunate and not necessarily that I ould hold against them too much. If it's do to directives from above than that would negative tint on it all for me.
it feels like gen 3 yet the characters don´t act out of their traits. So where does it fail? They left aside some sort of rewarding interactions, subtlety and again, just only moving the plot forward, without showing interesting from the mane 6 except the regular scheme that you would expect from them. Except for bits of comedy, everything feels somewhat generic and stagnant. It´s not about the lack of colors either because the fanbase praised Rarity Investigates and that episode happened in black and white most of the time.

The most unique parts from it were the animation vectors (especially how good Rainbow Dash looked there) and the spoken word song. The rest was pretty safe. AJ served as the voice of reason because Spike was lacking in this special. The rest hasn´t stuck with me except that Petunia and especially Kerfuffle look cute.

>I see it as something that could have had a lot of potential even on it's own without a villain (though it probably would've been better with one).It isn't a bad concept to revisit, just it was solely used as a plot device to get from point A to point B without anything cool. It was just there than gone.
yeah, they could have used it as a plot device like for example, Princess Twilight Sparkle did with the tree of Harmony. Actually what you are looking for with those questions has been made with the tree over the seasons, just that this special has contributed nothing towards that possible bit of unanswered lore. You have a lot in common with /mlp/ because I have seen a few anons who were expecting a villain to show up or something (saying that in retrospective). A wasted opportunity (and certainly frustrating the more one asks for answers of its direction) for that but,oh well.

>I wonder what the original concept was. That'd be nuts to have something this straightforward as the plot, considering the first 15 to 20 minuets and the title and rainbow pony toy push my initial thoughts were that this had to be cut down.
we don´t know anything behind the scenes. The special just came and went without making much noise. There weren´t almost any ads nor marketing for it so one can imply that it´s been considered as a minor project in comparison to the main series.
>However, it wouldn't be impossible that Hasbro may have actually chose this route. Isn't the person that was hired to oversee gen 5 a former marketing exec?
a marketing exec taking the lead? Well, then the golden days of subtle product placement can wave goodbye. Also I don´t know what Hasbro wants to do with MLP in terms of toys.Everything that they have been selling in the recent years are the mane 6, the princesses and well known background characters.

>I want my Rainbow pony powerups!
season 4 already did that though


Anon 08/10/2019 (Sat) 15:57:11 [Preview] No.4464 del
>>4458
>/mlp/ loved it? I had been out off /mlp/ for most of that week but I saw anons complaining.
see >>4422. Three quarters of the voters rated it with a 7 or higher and that´s pretty funny because after a week or so, I didn´t see it with that high praise on a few random replies here and there.

>I guess no Dolores?
and the student six I suppose.

>I think if this becomes a template of the future than their could be some stuff worth looking back on. Not the plot itself but the behind the scenes.
I meant only for the special and discussing just about it but yeah, if we decide to dive into that perspective, it can only get worse from there.

Well, maybe not with a fully pessimistic note. If we take this special as a reference/prototype for the next decade, then gen 5 would turn out as a meh generation. It would become the second best gen because it would have the technical parts in order but the execution and entertainment value of it wouldn´t make anyone scream about it. It would come and go without pity nor glory, only staying as a serviceable show on the surface.

>Diet ponyville.
definitely

>>4459
>that was plot full of tropes but done in a pretty clever way.
and one of the biggest pros of it was that it compiled all of them flowing naturally and getting combined into one single plot. The fact that they didn´t clash into each other abruptly or in an awkward way was admirable.

>Like it doesn't have the soul of the show.
the ingredients are there but even the most well known characters cannot offer much. What Lies Beneath and A Heart´s Warming Club don´t have as the main protagonists any of the mane 6 (except Treelight Sparkle) and you knew that you were watching FiM. Rainbow Roadtrip has the six of them yet it fails to make a connection with them.

>My rating for now still stays 6 and or 6.5/10. Though if the behind the scenes becomes true that this was purposeful I could lower it. If it was rushed by outsiders than I stick to 6.5/10 because when you compare it to other projects in development hell that were cut and rushed, at least they kept it in one coherent whole though if it was complete chaos that could have been more fun to talk about tbh
that relies entirely on the context and the scenes behind the making of this special, not the material itself. So time will tell which score will make the cut whenever we hear something about its process.

About discussing more episodes, I have watched The Last Laugh (2,4,5 Great is airing today by the way) and fortunately, FiM is carrying the spirit that the special was lacking. I do have to give it a second try but I can certainly say that this is a solid one.


Anon 08/11/2019 (Sun) 10:24:55 [Preview] No.4468 del
I wish the show and the fanbase didn´t make things hard to review.

I wonder what problem /endpone/ has to face for this episode.


Anon 08/12/2019 (Mon) 05:19:58 [Preview] No.4469 del
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>>4468
We will see. After all, it is a student 6 episode. We will see if it carries any weight. If it is Dash's last episode, then the frustration could be the student 6 simply being there.


Anon 08/12/2019 (Mon) 13:28:53 [Preview] No.4472 del
>>4469
>it is a student 6 episode. We will see if it carries any weight.
yeah, either it´s genuinely a bad episode or it´s /mlp/ being mad again

>If it is Dash's last episode, then the frustration could be the student 6 simply being there.
or both things combined that would make this awful. I haven´t seen it yet.


Anon 08/13/2019 (Tue) 06:22:58 [Preview] No.4477 del
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>>4424
>Well, I´ve just rewatched for sure the easiest episode that I am commenting out of these three: Between Dark and Dawn.
>It´s awesome. I could end my thoughts right here.
That's the TLDR take away.

>.but not only those can get that pleasure because in general, this episode screams pure fun and a chill out time.
I know that I did. This is probably one of the times that i have most liked them traveling everywhere.

>I do believe that the pacing was perfect. I may sound biased because I watched Rainbow Roadtrip yesterday for a 2nd time and you don´t know how much I appreciate this format after watching the special.
Lot more meat. Ya'know, every time I compare Rainbow Rooadtrip with a higher tier episode of the show the more...off it feels.

>>4463
>a marketing exec taking the lead? Well, then the golden days of subtle product placement can wave goodbye.
It seems like that was some market exec that was placed in charged or was to be in charge at some point but I don't remember when I heard this and it could b changed or even a rumor for all I know Seems like though I heard it from EqD though. Been a bit busy with other things to check.

>well, then consider me a fan of the fandom if that happens. I mean I am not against simple or pure slice of life stories. In fact, I have praised The Point of No Return or even enjoyed a lot more Going To Seed despite only occurring in the Sweet Apple Acres.
Me too. With FiM though there was 2 ingredients that would be lacking if they the two routes I most fear with gen 5 (younger kids route and people pleaser let's emulate other successful formats/what's popular right now). Good writing and the hints of adult themes. For example Pinkie Pie would probably be LOL random with no depth 100% and their would be a lot less of subtlety, snarky, if they go full kids route adventure moments like running into a monster(t leat be dulled down), etc. Their just probably wouldn't be much in it for us.


Anon 08/13/2019 (Tue) 06:25:53 [Preview] No.4478 del
>>4464
>Well, maybe not with a fully pessimistic note. If we take this special as a reference/prototype for the next decade, then gen 5 would turn out as a meh generation. It would become the second best gen because it would have the technical parts in order but the execution and entertainment value of it wouldn´t make anyone scream about it. It would come and go without pity nor glory, only staying as a serviceable show on the surface.
Sounds like what Lego did when they tried to bring back Bionicle. It was clearly dumbed down a bit and was trying to keep a youger demographic in mind. Though their logic was understandable many fans were upset because they themselves had been hooked when they where I was because of the impressive depth of the world. Though Bioicle itself was prone to some more standard kids fair products a lot of th stuff was pretty impressive for the time. I think fans were a bit too hard on it, because whatever final product wouldn't be their taste, but at the same time I don't think lego was able to recapture Bionicle's success with the simplification when what had caused it it was it's immersive world and relative exotic style.
Flash short from 2014:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=We3k7ZafKNI [Embed]
Flash game from 2001 :
https://youtube.com/watch?v=sTrcmx8a3EM [Embed]
TDLR: what I fear more than any changes are simplication/marketabity shaping it gen 5.

So yeah, a fan of the fandom indeed...


Anon 08/15/2019 (Thu) 03:55:10 [Preview] No.4482 del
The Last Laugh quickie first impressions/maybe still a revew?

I have seen the Last Laugh, still waiting on when I'll get the chance to watch 2,4,6 Greaaat.

I think this episode's initial driving premise is perfect for Pinkie. A feeling of inadequacy compared to her friends and although she doesn't show much hints of negative emotion, anyone who watched the show knows that their is likely more darker thoughts just below the surface. I felt like Pinkie was perfectly in character here. 100%, To anyone that says she's been simply reduced to a flanderized LOL random gag character I present this episode. All the behaviors displayed from her determination to help Cheese Sandwich to her various jokes are perfectly in line with the Pony from way back in season 1/2 except perhaps slightly more reserved. (She's not going to Cranky Doodle Donkey levels of obsession, though she is still a little obsessed of course).

The story was good and the moral was well constructed for her though I could see a couple of paths of criticism one could take. 1) One could say she just kind of swept the whole thing under the rug couldn't you? After all, she just cheers up Cheese and suddenly is like "I guess I'm happy being like simple old Pinkie!" without really fully dealing with the fact of how small she is from all her friends Though in reality Apple Jack, Fluttershy to a lesser extent are similarly small compared to TS, RD and Rarity Another is that for the closing of Pinkie's arc, I could understand some seeing it as not as fantastical fan service or any sort of game changer and too much focus on a another pony who, while was funny to see in that state, perhaps feels a bit wasted for her last episode. If you consider it the last do to another ep that has her in a costarring role coming up

However, on the first point, their isn't much ground to stand on when you look at the writing. Pinkie didn't just sweep it under. She saw a pony who had archived a similar state of power and wealth as her friends and that pony was utterly miserable in that position. Pinkie saw herself if she tried to cash in on her fame. She saw a pony walk away from a position of a Rarity or a Rainbow Dash and being happy doing what she already was doing (well I suppose Cheese does still own the factory...) and concluded that she could make do on her path. I mean she already has Buckball and being a hero, keeping her parties intimate and her own style maybe critical to her health and sense of who she is amidst all that.

As for the second point, that is one I am much more sympathetic too but that's not something I can truly judge until the show is over and perhaps some revisits to older episodes. Even then the story as written did little wrong.

8/10 for now since I'm only on first watch.


Anon 08/15/2019 (Thu) 04:02:23 [Preview] No.4483 del
Also, one smaller point. Kudos to them for not making Sam Smirk a secondary antagonist/jerk despite being a unfun corporate type. That was a small subversion, but I nice to see such a pony still actually caring about his boss and still having a place despite having those inclinations.


Anon 08/16/2019 (Fri) 18:30:47 [Preview] No.4488 del
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>>4477
>This is probably one of the times that i have most liked them traveling everywhere.
because it´s like a small compilation of all Equestria´s expansion and how big this world actually is with so many possibilities. The song would have worked without the completion but it feels like a subtle payoff for approaching interest from the ponies during the years that the mane 6 have been active in Ponyville. Combine this with the fact that Celestia and Luna barely go out of their comfort zone and you have a fully passionate feeling for checking them once more.

>every time I compare Rainbow Rooadtrip with a higher tier episode of the show the more...off it feels.
eeeyup, it´s weird. The development of my thoughts towards the special have ended up in a pretty awkward place in the wrong way. I didn´t get the same vibe while I was rewatching these two episodes (12 and 13) after experiencing the special twice. Accumulating the three reviews pretty close together makes the difference much more visible than reviewing them weekly with only one single try.

>some market exec that was placed in charged or was to be in charge at some point but I don't remember when I heard this and it could b changed or even a rumor for all I know Seems like though I heard it from EqD
well just in case that you have a link or something to back it up (hopefully not even though it wouldn´t surprise me at all), you can bring this up again.

>With FiM though there was 2 ingredients that would be lacking if they the two routes I most fear with gen 5:
>younger kids route
Funnily enough, FiM has always aimed at kids...adding up to the fact that the whole family can enjoy it as well. However, are kids really all that interested in cartoons anymore? Because they have a lot of options these days that could overshadow MLP if Hasbro doesn´t put enough effort and money at marketing gen 5, combined with the fact that the Internet, especially Youtube exists. I see more kids getting entertained with random videos of Youtube with their IPads, let alone if the television is an appealing medium to cater to them.

I will say this: there were like 9 people in the cinema session for the MLP movie....3 parents watched it: one of them was with a 11 year old girl, the other one brought her 3 year old little daughter (a little bit too young though) and the other one was my mother. Guess what, the 1 year old caught everything while the one with the 3 year old stayed a little bit surprised and that kid didn´t catch up everything obviously(she noticed that Tempest wasn´t evil though). The other four people were me and three college students. I´ll leave it at that

>and people pleaser let's emulate other successful formats/what's popular right now).
you mean that they attempt miserably at copying adult animes and make this franchise proper of edgelords?. Or do you mean by popular about referencing random dated memes explicitly so they could ruin the ambience of their own settings?
They have already touched the darkest parts without reaching the grim and it proves how subtlety really suits this show for keeping the entertainment value for the adults. The only thing that one fan can ask for this franchise is:

>Good writing and the hints of adult themes.
pretty much this.

>For example Pinkie Pie would probably be LOL random with no depth 100% and their would be a lot less of subtlety, snarky,
if they go full kids route adventure moments like running into a monster(t leat be dulled down), etc. Their just probably wouldn't be much in it for us.
then yeah,you mean the obnoxious meme route for easy jokes and one dimensional lines. However, the good news for you is that season 9 has offered a pretty mature Pinkie with The Last Laugh so despite your fears, at least gen 4 has covered all your petitions until the very end of its ride.


Anon 08/30/2019 (Fri) 21:25:59 [Preview] No.4503 del
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2,4,6 Greaaat review.

Alright, still a bit mixed on the sleep, so this could be a little scattered.

I don't have strong negative emotional reaction to this at all but I think I understand if someone did. The plot is sound in concept and I enjoyed the team's antics well enough but the drivers of the plot seem a bit off. I could see some taking issue with how Rainbow Dash acted a bit irresponsibly and Twilight Sparkle setting up Dash to lead the cheering squad in the first place did seem pretty arbitrary and her doing that as a teaching to RD seemed like it was just thrown in the end of the episode almost as excuse thrown in at the end. Though I'd say such antics aren't completely without precedent. I mean does anypony remember The Mysterious Mare Do Well? The episode would've been more interesting if it had been established as a dynamic within the episode (or at least dropped a hint). Also, I think they could've had it good with it being a co-staring episode with Smolder having costar status and point of view so RD and her could clash and they both get character development from it . I suppose this could however put pressure on screentime for everypony though. The biggest elephant in the room however is I think is less with the episode and more with th context around it. It's one of the last episodes of the show, one which is running out of time and arguably has a lot of elements that could use some development. Perhaps larger still is the fact that if this is RD's last episode it didn't do anything new for her. It didn't do anything big, even on a small scale of fanservice. So your left with a somewhat lackluster episode that doesn't further the storyline of either one of the main staring cast's possibly last solo roll or the new B team, which I do have fears of being crowed out. At the same time can I really expect every episode of the last season to be big or at least resolve final arcs and unanswered questions. I'm not so sure how far I can hold that context against this episode. I actually still enjoyed most of the episode TBH, I liked the SoL and the cute little antics. These are the questions I think up in regards to the plot.

So my final verdict: If I treat this as, like it way it probably was written, an ordinary episode of MLP, it's slightly lackluster. The story could be better, the dynanics of the character could be better, but it isn't anything that I'll spend my time really thinking about as it isn't really a shining example and I'd rate it a 6.9 or maybe a 6.5 depending on how out of line you consider TS and RD, because I still enjoyed it. With context, IDK. I'm not sure I can fully answer that right now.


Anon 08/31/2019 (Sat) 20:48:15 [Preview] No.4520 del
so, I have given a 2nd try to the episode 14: The Last Laugh. I think that I am ready to reply to your review that I agree quite a bit:

>>4482
>I think this episode's initial driving premise is perfect for Pinkie. A feeling of inadequacy compared to her friends and although she doesn't show much hints of negative emotion, anyone who watched the show knows that their is likely more darker thoughts just below the surface. I felt like Pinkie was perfectly in character here. 100%,
eeeyup, the first two minutes are masterful at hinting the fact that Pinkie doesn´t have any sort of arc like the rest of the mane 6 do. She has exposed that dark detail in a natural way and that´s a question the fanbase has been asking quite a bit, so having this answered in this manner, it´s quite admirable ()not to mention that it marks the restart of this season gracefully.

As for Pinkie´s character...

>To anyone that says she's been simply reduced to a flanderized LOL random gag character I present this episode. All the behaviors displayed from her determination to help Cheese Sandwich to her various jokes are perfectly in line with the Pony from way back in season 1/2 except perhaps slightly more reserved. (She's not going to Cranky Doodle Donkey levels of obsession, though she is still a little obsessed of course).
this is completely the opposite that you had feared about gen 5 and while we don´t have any clue how that gen is going to turn out in the end, this episode actually shows a balanced Pinkie Pie without reaching to obnoxious extremes of laughter. She manages to tell the serious stuff and using the jokes as medium to drive the episode forward. It makes sense that she has become more reserved than in the first two seasons, starting with the fact that she has met Cheese Sandwich before, the excitement to see him gets slightly reduced.

>she just cheers up Cheese and suddenly is like "I guess I'm happy being like simple old Pinkie!" without really fully dealing with the fact of how small she is from all her friends Though in reality Apple Jack, Fluttershy to a lesser extent are similarly small compared to TS, RD and Rarity
small in terms of depth but keep in mind that she makes lots of public relationships, she serves as the one pony that breaks the mold and warms up the contact between new friends by making a party or by simply showing her positive attitude to the newcomers.

Pinkie might look small and she has failed several times with her out of place attitude in hostile ambiences (Over a Barrel with the buffaloes come to my mind). However, she has mastered that diplomatic practice (the same goes for Spike) over time. Should I remember to you that she managed to calm down the yaks in Party Pooped and convinced for a short moment the hippogriffs for helping them in the movie by bringing joy to Skystar? Also Twilight has needed her several times like the part for Moondancer, so even by looking small and not having an arc, she subtly forges and maintains that warmth for those who are invited to the party.

>Another is that for the closing of Pinkie's arc, I could understand some seeing it as not as fantastical fan service or any sort of game changer and too much focus on a another pony who, while was funny to see in that state, perhaps feels a bit wasted for her last episode. If you consider it the last do to another ep that has her in a costarring role coming up
for a closer, while it doesn´t manage to be top tier nor the biggest celebration out there for a character of this kind, it serves for finding her own destiny. I wouldn´t cry all that much. I suppose that she lives more the fact that she is singing songs and celebrating a little party for a couple of minutes in any episode at any moment than having an entire episode focused on her.


Anon 08/31/2019 (Sat) 21:20:28 [Preview] No.4521 del
>>4482
>their isn't much ground to stand on when you look at the writing. Pinkie didn't just sweep it under.
she is what she shows to the cameras. I mean, she is the most one dimensional in comparsion to the rest so there isn´t indeed much ground to stand on nor discover beyond its superficial image except for a couple of visible things in the middle.

>She saw a pony who had archived a similar state of power and wealth as her friends and that pony was utterly miserable in that position.
this hints that the episode couldn´t be exactly directed at Pinkie but it does at the same time during the execution. Why did Weird Al Yankcovic come back to this show? What character could you see for a means to an end? Clearly Pinkie is the closest canon character to interact with him so they have had her as a plot device to express his purpose that...

>She saw a pony walk away from a position of a Rarity or a Rainbow Dash and being happy doing what she already was doing and concluded that she could make do on her path.
Pinkie also shares. You could notice how Cheese sounded in a low key before recovering his smile and you are overlooking in these first impressions/review a lot the fact that Cheese hasn´t only tried to be funny, but the song and the last third feels more like finding the optimism that he had shown in the past. His breakdown is quite similar to Pinkie´s and (I am entering into headcanon territory here) that sense of recovery feels less like laughing at his jokes and more like finding that passion that one had lost over time.

What´s the difference between Pinkie Pride and this episode? Weird Al finished his 22 year contract in 2014, so he has been free of doing whatever he has wanted but there is a little bit of serious stuff among his material: in 2017, he didn´t parody any of the songs in his tours, he simply covered the originals with a little encore of his own catalog. What am I attempting to bring on the table with this?

Weird Al could have felt a little bit tired of parodying stuff because of his own fame and he has probably felt forced to keep that image alive. I don´t know about his private life but what I know is that the music industry hides quite dark stuff behind the scenarios and I wonder why Weird Al has accepted to come back for appearing here again and developing an episode like Common Ground did for Patton Oswalt?

So my interpretation isn´t quite the same for your point of criticism because maybe Pinkie Pie served as a subtle plot device just like Rainbow Dash did for Quibble Pants.

>I mean she already has Buckball and being a hero, keeping her parties intimate and her own style maybe critical to her health and sense of who she is amidst all that.
and one little thing more: she knows no frontiers. Her party language feels universal in this world and she doesn´t have any fears to move for doing so.

>that's not something I can truly judge until the show is over and perhaps some revisits to older episodes. Even then the story as written did little wrong.
the episode is truly solid, the pacing went in a proper manner and surprisingly enough, I got more laughs when they were exposing Cheese´s problem than the resolution because I see that comeback of laughter as a form of personal relief for Cheese´s character more than anything else.

>8/10
indeed. Not the highest point to mention because it´s not a life changer episode for this show but I must admit that it truly deserves an honorable mention. Little to no flaws were shown here and it was enjoyable all the way through.

>Kudos to them for not making Sam Smirk a secondary antagonist/jerk despite being a unfun corporate type.
THIS. They could have gone with the Svengallop´s route but nope, they went with the nice route like Cherry Jubilee did with AJ in The Last Roundup. I must point out that he said that the factory was a thing that he wished initially and Cheese´s one.I let that sink in.


2,4,6 Great comes next and it seems that you posted your views yesterday. Let´s see if I can do that as well tonight...


Anon 08/31/2019 (Sat) 23:32:28 [Preview] No.4522 del
so my thoughts about 2,4,6 Great are coming and...at first watch, it looks like a complete disappointment and a utter waste of time, the 2nd attempt kind of confuses me in terms of rating it and let´s say that I am more or less mixed towards it. Let´s see if I clear my mind during this review/reply:

>>4503
>I don't have strong negative emotional reaction to this at all but I think I understand if someone did.
you are spot on. I had negative thoughts at first but now, I have tried to figure out how this plot has been written and developed in the plot itself and behind the scenes. I mean, you have the poll from /mlp/ >>4468 and I swear that while I can imagine their thoughts, I haven´t read any single one so I don´t know the usual aspects that they have used to judge it.

>The plot is sound in concept and I enjoyed the team's antics well enough but the drivers of the plot seem a bit off.
to me, the concept of cheering is what sounded dumb to me. I mean, why are the writers doing this in the last season? For what purpose? I agree that the squad looks like they communicate to each other quite well, it seems that they have known each other before this plot.

>I could see some taking issue with how Rainbow Dash acted a bit irresponsibly and Twilight Sparkle setting up Dash to lead the cheering squad in the first place did seem pretty arbitrary and her doing that as a teaching to RD seemed like it was just thrown in the end of the episode almost as excuse thrown in at the end
almost like it is. However, this problem is what I have had to analyze for the 2nd watch of the episode, why did they repeat the formula of...

>The Mysterious Mare Do Well? The episode would've been more interesting if it had been established as a dynamic within the episode (or at least dropped a hint)
the thing is that I am confused for rating this episode and it looks like I am defending or I have been paid by Hasbro....but I´ve realized that there are hints about that resolution, just that they are not all that obvious for the viewer. You know, this is why I need to give more attempts for an episode instead of judging it with a single try, one might miss some details that could change the perspective towards it to some extent. My second watch has consisted in stopping the episode at certain parts and repeating little moments just to analyze where those little details pan out. I will get to that later...

>they could've had it good with it being a co-staring episode with Smolder having costar status and point of view so RD and her could clash and they both get character development from it . I suppose this could however put pressure on screentime for everypony though.
yeah, that could have rushed it. In fact, Smolder looks way more expressive than the rest of the squad because she is more direct/less subtle about her thoughts.

Now, after replying to this shortly, it seems that I have anything to offer over here that hasn´t been said but the 2nd watch has something else to bring onto the table...


Anon 09/01/2019 (Sun) 00:04:53 [Preview] No.4523 del
and now, this reply will consist more about my perspective and what I have noticed by taking some pauses while rewatching the episode:

>>4503
>the biggest elephant in the room however is I think is less with the episode and more with th context around it.
I have to agree with that. It should have happened around season 8 and instead of Non Compete Clause, they could have replaced it and we would have had a better quality than that low point in the series.

>Perhaps larger still is the fact that if this is RD's last episode it didn't do anything new for her.
>It's one of the last episodes of the show, one which is running out of time and arguably has a lot of elements that could use some development.
eeeyup, I still have to agree that we have seen RD facing this kind of stuff before with Mare Do Well and 28 Pranks Later, we are repeating the same cycle like the arc Fluttershy learning how to be assertive over and over again. However, I have to disagree about one word: development.
>It didn't do anything big, even on a small scale of fanservice.
maybe you will get surprised but this episode does have development and gives a couple of characters a reason to exist ironically enough. Now, how do I explain this without sounding weak for this argument? Fortunately,(at least for me though) this episode does offer something to grasp on and rewards a little bit more than the first try (I am looking at you Rainbow Roadtrip), just that they are really subtle and for the most part, they don´t tell anything about the purpose of this plot.

It gives development to Twilight. How? She has done this to Rainbow Dash before in the other two episodes, does this make any difference? I think that she is learning how to act like Celestia which makes sense considering that she is going to become a princess. Now, acting like Celestia doesn´t mean that she is simply work on her duties. Notice the little grins that she throws subtly at the camera every time she talks to Rainbow Dash at the beginning and at the end of the episode. Combine it with the high five with Celestia and there you have it: Twilight has put in practice the trolling skills, in short, playing 4d chess like Celestia did in The Best Night Ever, Make New Friends but Keep Discord or Horse Play.

It gives development and a reason to exist for Ocellus. How? Well, she has usually acted shy, fearful, nerdy and kind of introvert several times (School Daze, Uprooted...) so you see her in this episode as if she fears at singing (?) the words of their performance in front of the public. So she has gained some sort of confidence at using the ordinary tone without any fear with this experience (with the help of a megaphone), feeling like she has learned the moral of Filli Vanilli without any diary to write in it. Another little aspect (around the 5th minute of the episode) that one could easily overlook is that she is doing this stuff because she wants to do something else besides shaping form like a changeling does. This means that she looks for a purpose and doesn´t want to be recognized as another drone that does the usual stuff for any changeling but doing something unique to her persona that others wouldn´t do on their own.


Moreover, it does show up a little unexpected detail of continuity: an unicorn is playing buckball in the pegasus position (so there are two unicorns in Celestia´s team) with the butterfly wings that Rarity used in Sonic Rainboom. It seems that they have been perfected and don´t burn because of the sun rays, this does open up a lot of possibilities for unicorns and earth ponies that cannot have any sort of natural access to fly but want to have a short while at using them, whether it is for pleasure or for doing a serviceable task (sports, jobs, rushed situations/emergencies...)


Anon 09/01/2019 (Sun) 00:45:37 [Preview] No.4524 del
also, I forgot about other two things: Snips has had found his place in this show as well with a little business for selling stuff and make profit, feeling like he has a sense of accomplishment on what he does. He has obeyed Trixie in the past as one mindless slave and now, he has been seeing how Snails has found an outstanding success with the Buckball team since season 6, so he has tried to find a little niche out there to thrive and offer his own mark to Ponyville.

Another one is Smolder but this is minor stuff. She has had nightmares about doing girly stuff like drinking tea with ponies who gossip a lot (What Lies Beneath) and dressing up with a nice look (Uprooted). She says that she wants to look cool but she secretly hides her attraction towards the girly stuff that would make her look foolish on public (like his brother Garble with poetry).

now, why does this resolution happen? The squad seemed to act stupidly while practicing the performance without Rainbow, without knowing how to do simple/trivial stuff such as using a party cannon.

I wouldn´t blame anyone for thinking in that way but the more I asked about how this 4d chess happened, the more I realized that the squad has been subtly acting as well. This is really tricky to explain and one has to make an effort for projecting this stuff.

I have paused the episode a few times because those little expressions reveal a lot...in hindsight.

First of all, they have had quite a lot of time to plan this stuff because they have had two weeks for preparing all of this. It seems that they fuck it up until the previous day for the match and Dash decides to solve it. However, they could have had inner dialogue among themselves on how to convince Dash for spending time with them.

There are a few scenes that sort of prove that they are not acting stupid nor clueless. The most obvious scenes (relatively speaking) are when Smolder gets angry because of Dash´s lack of attention towards their actions. She is the most direct character of the squad that points out the problem without revealing the plan, making Dash more guilty if necessary.

However, I want to say that the squad direct their faces towards Dash all the time and they spend time at performing only aiming at her. One little detail reveals it when the squad gets blindfolded by Snails. They seem to play that "game" from Snails but Yona decides to take off the tissue and you have to see her faces when she notices that RD is leaving the room. That´s when one can tell that the squad does it solely because RD has to be the star of this experience and not anyone else. All of this by agreeing with Twilight beforehand.

This argument might end up as the most difficult one to explain by typing it and it´s easier to spot this subtlety by observing closely the expressions of those 5 cheerleaders whenever Dash pays attention to the buckball team instead of focusing on them.

>I treat this as, like it way it probably was written, an ordinary episode of MLP, it's slightly lackluster. The story could be better, the dynanics of the character could be better, but it isn't anything that I'll spend my time really thinking about
eww, I don´t know what to say. For me, it´s sort of okay but not the stuff I would have any passionate desire to visit again. However, I have found a lot of enjoyment at discussing this and trying to figure out the hints of this episode for that resolution. Besides, the moral isn´t bad at all. The stuff can be mindless and stupid but after all, what makes it special is the time that you spend together and I think that the episode subtly shows forms of convincing the main character to share those events and take part in them.

>I'd rate it a 6.9 or maybe a 6.5 depending on how out of line you consider TS and RD, because I still enjoyed it.
that´s about right. Around a 6 or so but I have it in a higher regard because it has offered to me more meat than I had expected.

I hope that my thoughts help you a bit to go a little bit further


Anon 09/01/2019 (Sun) 00:53:31 [Preview] No.4525 del
phew, these three posts have tired me quite a bit mentally. Maybe I have done mental gymnastics without realizing it but it had to be exposed because I knew that this episode had something hidden under the surface.

Not to mention that I could have taken the rushed path from /mlp/ but as we are following a laid back rhythm for reviewing these episodes, I couldn´t afford to say: "3 out of 10, it´s shit" because of the first impressions. Expressing the disappointment would have been the easiest route but as I am a little big headed, finding the actual arguments was quite difficult, much more for defending them properly.

Anyway, I am leaving my activity here for now. Good night /endpone/.


Anon 09/02/2019 (Mon) 19:44:51 [Preview] No.4526 del
>>4520
> Also Twilight has needed her several times like the part for Moondancer, so even by looking small and not having an arc, she subtly forges and maintains that warmth for those who are invited to the party.
Agreed. She isn't doing nothing that's for sure and she's ot stagnant even if within the universe she hasn't become the top chef or party planer (being OP ain't needed anyway).

>>4521
>
Weird Al could have felt a little bit tired of parodying stuff because of his own fame and he has probably felt forced to keep that image alive. I don´t know about his private life but what I know is that the music industry hides quite dark stuff behind the scenarios and I wonder why Weird Al has accepted to come back for appearing here again and developing an episode like Common Ground did for Patton Oswalt?
Hadn't thought of this but when you brought it up yeah that makes sense. Interesting to think about if Weird Al was expressing himself in someway here. I mean, it's one of those things that could be just a minor footnote but ca even be a subtle expression in a darker way, like Weird Al wants to be Cheese Sandwhich and go back but he may still feel a little trapped. I need to rewatch with this perspective in mind. Maybe I'll see something else between the lines.

>>4522
>to me, the concept of cheering is what sounded dumb to me. I mean, why are the writers doing this in the last season? For what purpose?
I think it boils down to the question of: should the writers try to tie up every lose end and do every last bit of fav service and lore or should they treat the season mostly like any other? For this episode is too me, inoffensively lackluster barring how stupid you think RD and TS maybe acting. I've been really trying to think how to judge things with this show and there would be a lot of perspectives to look at. Such as owning to the fans that breathed life into the show vs the show's ultimate, some might argue utilitarian, purpose as children's entertainment. Which is something that shadows over all fan service and expectations and I'm not even going into the core theme of the show and how I could see it being possibly violated by diving in to far to one mentality or the other As for the concept though I think it could work if it just was tweaked a bit, RD maybe less jerkish but having let the fame go to her head more subtly and realizing that she undervalues those who work in the background to make these events happen. Or even better, if they are setting up RD to be the captain of the wonderbolts, have it be a lesson of leadership. Have her actually be in charge of the buckball team and have her neglect the operation of the other elements (cheerleaders, logistics, etc) to her peril.

>>4523
> She has done this to Rainbow Dash before in the other two episodes, does this make any difference? I think that she is learning how to act like Celestia which makes sense considering that she is going to become a princess.
That is what now really interests me with this episode that you put it that way. I had noted that her attitude seemed like trollestia but it was only a footnote that I would've included in bonus thoughts and observations (along with RD seeming possibly too stupid and dismissive of cheering considering she is such a sport's pony) . I think A Trivial Problem may actually show a bit too. That on its own as significant enough to save her reasoning I'd be mixed on, but I think it adds an bit to think about.

>It gives development and a reason to exist for Ocellus.
I think it's a good detail, though I still think that with the time they had they perhaps should have given a co-staring role to one of the student 6 because in it'd be good to get their POV whenever you can crowd it into this season.


Anon 09/02/2019 (Mon) 19:48:47 [Preview] No.4527 del
>>4525
Though I have much more to say I am leaving too. Dealing with being the only able bodied person capable of taking care of my grandfather

Keep the bridges strong. I have seen A Trivial Problem and hopefully will have my review up so.


Anon 09/04/2019 (Wed) 00:31:37 [Preview] No.4529 del
>>4526
>she hasn't become the top chef or party planer (being OP ain't needed anyway)
nor she plans to do that because ironically enough, she has concluded to herself that she only needs to see the faces of happiness from mundane people. That´s her biggest illusion and I suppose that not everything has to be about ascending to something greater over time (like Twilight, Rarity or RD do) but more like keeping the spirit alive....and she is perfectly okay with that.

>it's one of those things that could be just a minor footnote but ca even be a subtle expression in a darker way, like Weird Al wants to be Cheese Sandwhich and go back but he may still feel a little trapped. I need to rewatch with this perspective in mind. Maybe I'll see something else between the lines.
keep in mind that I am commenting and overanalyzing way more than a normal fan normally does (and this practice is somewhat stupid to some extent to do all the time) and I have admitted that this might come more from headcanon territory, not from the show itself but more from the context behind its production.

I am not saying that this will change completely the perspective towards this episode nor offers a greater quality to it. However, I would find it really ironic that a pop culture icon (for decades by the way) such as Weird Al Yankovic used this show for expressing his thoughts and tell a personal part of him hidden in a simple narrative. Without knowing anything about him, I can tell that I would understand that practice because writing a fic for this place...kind of feels haunting how the writing process ends up feeling somewhat similar to this.

>For this episode is too me, inoffensively lackluster barring how stupid you think RD and TS maybe acting
and that´s alright, as long as you don´t harass the writers for doing that, it´s okay to think like that. I mean, you have the poll from /mlp/ to figure out how their thoughts were and you aren´t the only who feels a huge let down from it.

>I'm not even going into the core theme of the show and how I could see it being possibly violated by diving in to far to one mentality or the other
this line defines its biggest challenge of gen 5 and this franchise will have to face in the future.

>RD maybe less jerkish but having let the fame go to her head more subtly and realizing that she undervalues those who work in the background to make these events happen.
well, that would be a better narrative for taking the concept of this episode. However, given the fact that writers have written RD as someone who is big headed about her ideas and what illusions to her is a much bigger preferences than the rest of things that could actually matter, they have normalized that her way to learn the lesson is not by intelligence but more like receiving a hit of reality for getting it (sometimes a radical one even though this time was much more ordinary and mundane).


>if they are setting up RD to be the captain of the wonderbolts, have it be a lesson of leadership. Have her actually be in charge of the buckball team and have her neglect the operation of the other elements (cheerleaders, logistics, etc) to her peril.
I don´t think that they are aiming for that nor I find that her arc will end up with more reputation in the Wonderbolts in the end. The funny thing is that RD could have trained the buckball team and would have actually won the match but it seems that Celestia and Twilight had set this with a special focus about her contribution for the cheerleaders.

Basically, it´s like playing a poker game with cheaters, she was doomed from the start and subtly forced to warm up and do something with the squad despite its possible mess.


Anon 09/04/2019 (Wed) 00:51:40 [Preview] No.4530 del
>>4526
>That is what now really interests me with this episode that you put it that way. I had noted that her attitude seemed like trollestia but it was only a footnote that I would've included in bonus thoughts and observations (along with RD seeming possibly too stupid and dismissive of cheering considering she is such a sport's pony).
no wonder you could have included as just a minor thought. Nonetheless, I went way too far and tried to analyze why she has set up all of this and while one could this as a try hard projection to defend this episode, the problem is that the episode itself delivers a few clues in the expressions and in the actions from the squad. That minor bonus thought that you could have mentioned is what has driven to overanalyze and point out how this episode goes with a colder mind. I won´t deny that this practice has entertained me quite a bit though.

About that RD, it doesn´t have that much of a mystery considering that she has trained (along with AJ) Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy to their success in Buckball Season. Rainbow clearly has the formula and the writers have decided to build up this lesson towards the direction of: "Time spent together matters more than a victory".

>I think A Trivial Problem may actually show a bit too. That on its own as significant enough to save her reasoning I'd be mixed on, but I think it adds an bit to think about.
I haven´t watched that episode (I will catch up tomorrow for ep 16 and ep 17) yet but if I get to see what you are saying, then my thoughts about 2,4,6 Great might not be all that crazy in the end.

>I still think that with the time they had they perhaps should have given a co-staring role to one of the student 6 because in it'd be good to get their POV whenever you can crowd it into this season.
the problem is that the students don´t get enough time to explore them in a personal level. For one of them, we know more about her family (Silverstream), another one is so uninteresting and chill that ends up as his main virtue for his character (Sandbar) and lastly, we don´t get to see the problems that one changeling has to face in a 2nd era for their lives (Ocellus). This might explain they have left that stuff for IDW...I suppose.


Anon 09/04/2019 (Wed) 01:01:24 [Preview] No.4531 del
>>4527
>I have much more to say I am leaving too.
and I will wait perfectly for that because...

>Text in spoilers
I have no hurry at all, the world is still moving anyway. I cannot sadly do much except for delivering entertainment, some food for thought and taking /endpone/ a little bit away from reality at times.

The only thing that I can say is that take care because others wouldn´t stay alive if it wasn´t because of your presence...

>Keep the bridges strong. I have seen A Trivial Problem and hopefully will have my review up so.
I will catch up with the next two episodes soon. As for the bridge, I think that she is in good health for now.


Anon 09/04/2019 (Wed) 03:28:32 [Preview] No.4532 del
>>4529
>keep in mind that I am commenting and overanalyzing way more than a normal fan normally does (and this practice is somewhat stupid to some extent to do all the time) and I have admitted that this might come more from headcanon territory, not from the show itself but more from the context behind its production.
Do I think it is the biggest in the world, no. But sometimes there are little contexts and such that does add perspective and sometime one might find something interesting. It's not stupid.

>>4530
> I went way too far and tried to analyze why she has set up all of this and while one could this as a try hard projection to defend this episode
My thoughts on the episode are still the same 6.9 to 6.5 rating. It's a very tiny detail, more season 1 Celestia like where it's just something that one might assume with limited information For example, do to Celestia just tagging along in the background for her and being a troll, we thought she must've planed the whole showdown with Nightmare Moon (this may have been made canon in a pure Season 4 context when it was revealed she had prophetic dreams), yet in season 7, we find that it was not as planned as we thought though I could be wrong since I'm very not awake. It is such a subtle observation that it could be called head canon territory, but I think it's is worth looking into. Again, in a Trivial Problem a saw a bit bigger example.

>the problem is that the students don´t get enough time to explore them in a personal level. For one of them, we know more about her family (Silverstream), another one is so uninteresting and chill that ends up as his main virtue for his character (Sandbar) and lastly, we don´t get to see the problems that one changeling has to face in a 2nd era for their lives (Ocellus). This might explain they have left that stuff for IDW...I suppose.
They probably should've been introduced a couple of seasons ago. Not the show staff's fault for the most part here. They clearly had different plans in season 7 with the Pillars and the Pony of Shadows before the school had to be put in.

>>4531
>I have no hurry at all, the world is still moving anyway.
Me neither. I'd rather take the time rather than have it pass at a breakneck pace with FiM final season.

>I will catch up with the next two episodes soon. As for the bridge, I think that she is in good health for now.
She maybe in very good health soon...


Anon 09/04/2019 (Wed) 23:23:03 [Preview] No.4536 del
the good old Proof of Life Shitpost that we have missed for a while is back tonight.

I have watched A Trivial Pursuit so don't spend any single neuron for thinking that I am going to eat spoilers from that episode with your review. In fact,it makes a lot of sense that 2,4,6 Great and this ep are next to each other in the episode list because their lessons are quite similar conceptually speaking, making more visible the direction that the writers have taken for this season.

So yeah,go ahead whenever you are ready for it.


Anon 09/05/2019 (Thu) 22:30:20 [Preview] No.4538 del
>>4532
>sometimes there are little contexts and such that does add perspective and sometime one might find something interesting.
that´s more or less the point that I want to reach with these comments (and yours as well). Giving more perspective towards the intentions and possible interpretations that you can get from the material itself but others don´t notice it.

there are some who say that overanalyzing this show is sometimes useless and while I am not denying that statement,I do admit that overanalyzing delivers an extra chunk of entertainment and makes the episode more relevant because of the attention that it receives from its consumers.

>still the same 6.9 to 6.5 rating.
fair enough

>do to Celestia just tagging along in the background for her and being a troll, we thought she must've planed the whole showdown with Nightmare Moon (this may have been made canon in a pure Season 4 context when it was revealed she had prophetic dreams)
>in season 7, we find that it was not as planned as we thought
did any of the users claim that t was an inside job back in the early days?
Anyway, the context of the series premiere is kind of tricky to tell because while those events happened first, the others that surround it (before and after) were written as an afterthought. The only question to answer from there was why she disappeared in the premiere until the mane 6 defeated Nightmare Moon. I don´t believe that it was due to her troll aspect but more like it came from the fact that the main characters had to shine instead of putting NMM´s sister in the screen with the elements(stealing the spotlight in the first premiere, not the best marketing)


Anon 09/05/2019 (Thu) 22:33:07 [Preview] No.4539 del
>>4532
>It is such a subtle observation that it could be called head canon territory, but I think it's is worth looking into.
FiM wasn´t all that defined. Rarity earned some bad fame because of he actions in Sonic Rainboom and AJ´s tone changed over the season because she didn´t sound southern enough in the first episodes and you could hear Rainbow Dash´s voice at certain lines from her mouth. I do remember that Celestia was put in a higher place than the rest of the characters back then as if she wasn´t from this world and looked like the world turned around her almost everytime she appeared around Ponyville. Times have definitely changed (even though the Best Night Ever showed her first personal preferences and a bit of warmth towards the mane 6)

>They clearly had different plans in season 7 with the Pillars and the Pony of Shadows before the school had to be put in.
one cannot blame them because they have been changing the story editors several times and the directions change either subtly or abruptly depending on what they have built from the most recent content. The pillars are clearly the biggest example of fresh characters that have almost fell out of relevancy in front of the screen. They have adapted themselves in the modern world but it´s not something that the writers have put much effort because it would take screentime and we already have so many characters that one cannot even know where to start.

So they introduced the students. Now, from the toy department´s perspective, they appeared because of the school but from the writer´s, they might have served as an excuse for revisiting the "non Equestrian" places discovered in the past seasons.

>They probably should've been introduced a couple of seasons ago.
eeeyup but keep in mind that at least, three of those students wouldn´t have had a reason to exist. They had to introduce Ember, Thorax and the hippogriffs´ royal family beforehand in season 5, only Sandbar, Yona and Gallus would have had an excuse but Silverstream, Ocellus and Smolder wouldn´t have been raised at all because of the context of their own species.

>I'd rather take the time rather than have it pass at a breakneck pace with FiM final season.
I suppose that we have /mlp/ for that direction. It means that if /endpone/ keeps going like this, it´s because its users can afford that passive attitude.

>She maybe in very good health soon
in the bridges we trust. The picture itself clearly shows her good state


Anon 09/09/2019 (Mon) 20:49:49 [Preview] No.4554 del
Quickie Review: A Trivial Pursuit (apperent not A Trivial Problem)

I liked it. I dig settings that take place mostly in one location and this did bring a /comfy/ feel. Calm before the final storm. Twilight Sparkle perhaps may have acted to immature for her character but then again it's just a simple trivia game. What I meant with another hint of TS acting like a princess (albeit she may have shown this some before) was how she acted with the rules. Finding rules that exist but had been seldom enforced to eliminate competition and when that failed trying to create your own using the power to draft'em. Sounds awfully politician like doesn't it.

Unless upon reexamination of Twilight's character and find something conflicting with a previous episode in the last 4 seasons (she may have been a bit too jerkish in the latter part) I rate this 7.5/10


Anon 09/10/2019 (Tue) 21:46:08 [Preview] No.4562 del
>>4554
>I liked it. I dig settings that take place mostly in one location and this did bring a /comfy/ feel. Calm before the final storm.
just like Going to Seed: one location and one single objective (winning a contest). It doesn´t require much more analysis than that but it doesn´t need many more elements for entertaining the viewer for a little nice slice of life story.


>Twilight Sparkle perhaps may have acted to immature for her character but then again it's just a simple trivia game. What I meant with another hint of TS acting like a princess (albeit she may have shown this some before) was how she acted with the rules.
and that´s quite funny because I have pointed out before that I don´t find any sort of differences between her as a princess and her as a nerdy student. In fact, she says clearly in the episode that this has nothing to do with the title of the princess of friendship, but more like a challenge that she imposes to herself.
We all know how she acts, the show itself has added a verb to describe her process of craziness and if you compare her to Lesson Zero, she has stayed mentally organized when it comes to the basics. She was pretty smart at preventing her disqualification when she almost checked the Daring Do book because of Sunburst´s big headed mentality.

Anyway, you are going to find more development from her pretty soon but this serves as a reminder that her moral principles haven´t changed all that much. Nerdy as ever, classic Twilight always tries to be the best at what she does (even if she has won three times in a row).

>Finding rules that exist but had been seldom enforced to eliminate competition and when that failed trying to create your own using the power to draft'em. Sounds awfully politician like doesn't it.
do you remember that CNN article about her involved in the US politics? Yeah, that was a joke but seeing her obsessive mindset for winning a simple contest, goddamn, she´s really picky and challenging to fool around. I wouldn´t like to have her as an opponent because that period of eliminating the other players with the rules looked almost like a dirty trick for her ideal victory.

>Unless upon reexamination of Twilight's character and find something conflicting with a previous episode in the last 4 seasons (she may have been a bit too jerkish in the latter part) I rate this 7.5/10
I don´t recall any situation of her being out of character. Maybe boring at times and somewhat predictable because of her gain of confidence over the years but I don´t remember anything really atrocious that contradicts her personality. This episode actually went back to those old times when her insanity invaded her even though she has taken control over it and has kept the basic manners.

There is not much to extract nor squeeze out of this episode honestly. I would point out two details if I had to say add something here:

This aspect is minor but I ´ve got to mention how the writers are playing with the shipping names over the course of this episode when they paired the characters for the contest (Appledash, Twipie, Twiburst). This might lead to a shipper go absolutely crazy that the writers have played with their desires and have used the fan names without going into the route shippers had wanted in the first place. Between this,naming an episode "Stranger than Fanfiction" and the material that has heavily implied the fanbase (Slice of Life, Fame and Misfortune), this show has got away with it,passing from the real universe to theirs and make it as a canonical event. If they have handled this stuff correctly, I don´t know what else could challenge this franchise.


Anon 09/10/2019 (Tue) 22:07:52 [Preview] No.4563 del
>>4562
and the other aspect I´ve wanted to talk about was how both 2,4,6 Great and A Trivial Pursuit have shown the same lesson without repeating the formula nor the same conflict.

Their messages fall into the same concept: it doesn´t matter what happens in the end as long as you do it with your friends and spend time together.

Now, one would say that this message is flawed and at its core, it could come from a loser´s mentality because it could mean that "taking part is the most important thing". I would argue that because while they look similar, in practice, they don´t have the same application.

In both episodes, the teams lost in the end (A Trivial Pursuit implied that the sacrifice would mean that the victory was out of the map) but that doesn´t mean the participants were incompetent. Twilight´s team lost by one point (4 for the locals-5 for the visitors) in the match and Dash´s plan for cheerleading stood out to both princesses.

As for ep 17, Twilight can do literally anything she wants by playing with the rules to the limit (and she can get to a real obnoxious level with them) and Pinkie, while she showed signs of being a lackluster player, she knew the answers of her specialty and she felt resigned for not gaining points because of her knowledge.

So yeah, the messages fit for this show and they didn´t leave at all the competent aspect aside, not to mention that even adult shows have hinted at this lesson (American Dad) as well.

Both episodes are more rewarding if they are watched together. As soon as the viewer sets the proper mood with one of them, the next one will feel more digestible to him. Despite having no link between each other, in terms of style, they make sense one leads up to the next in the episode list. Props to the writers for grouping them next to each other.


Anon 09/11/2019 (Wed) 02:00:42 [Preview] No.4564 del
>>4562
>This aspect is minor but I ´ve got to mention how the writers are playing with the shipping names over the course of this episode when they paired the characters for the contest (Appledash, Twipie, Twiburst). This might lead to a shipper go absolutely crazy that the writers have played with their desires and have used the fan names without going into the route shippers had wanted in the first place.
This is the second time they name dropped Apple Dash, going the complete opposite of EqD with Rarity Dash. >>4187
I know there has been shipping drama over that end (as I mentioned, tumblr) Here I think the real drama will unfold if they make any of the ships canon in FiM. I should be keeping better track of the shippers but right now I'm trying to avoid the spoilers of course.

>do you remember that CNN article about her involved in the US politics?
Yes. One of the few times I mentioned MLP at all IRL with my family

>I don´t recall any situation of her being out of character. Maybe boring at times and somewhat predictable because of her gain of confidence over the years but I don´t remember anything really atrocious that contradicts her personality. This episode actually went back to those old times when her insanity invaded her even though she has taken control over it and has kept the basic manners.
You're probably right but I was just somewhat unsure if it b fair to consider her a bit too insane and jerkish. Not something that bugged me personally but I was thinking of consistency and just thinking back to the last 4 seasons or so.

>There is not much to extract nor squeeze out of this episode honestly.
Pretty much this. This episode was just a regular old episode of MLP.

>Anyway, you are going to find more development from her pretty soon but this serves as a reminder that her moral principles haven´t changed all that much. Nerdy as ever, classic Twilight always tries to be the best at what she does (even if she has won three times in a row).
I saw it today. Gonna watch again tomorrow and get my thoughts from there. Though my initial impression:

[autism]It was amazing/autism]

>>4563
>Their messages fall into the same concept: it doesn´t matter what happens in the end as long as you do it with your friends and spend time together.
>Both episodes are more rewarding if they are watched together. As soon as the viewer sets the proper mood with one of them, the next one will feel more digestible to him. Despite having no link between each other, in terms of style, they make sense one leads up to the next in the episode list. Props to the writers for grouping them next to each other.
This is true. Perhaps even to a lesser extent for the Summer Sun Setback as well.


Anon 09/11/2019 (Wed) 23:23:56 [Preview] No.4578 del
>>4564
>This is the second time they name dropped Apple Dash, going the complete opposite of EqD with Rarity Dash. >>4187
well, as if Sweet and Smoky didn´t make it clear enough, we´ve got the definite proof that these name drops are not coincidental.

>there has been shipping drama over that end (as I mentioned, tumblr)
oh yeah, that part of the fanbase.Does Tumblr hold any sort of significant value? Verizon has recently sold it to Wordpress and after the porn ban, I cannot take that site seriously and colour me surprised if there is any homogeneous group of bronies that hold a consistent opinion towards the show.My interest about that also dropped because of the account requirement in order to see it.

>Here I think the real drama will unfold if they make any of the ships canon in FiM.
old news that we all have known from the get go.

>I should be keeping better track of the shippers but right now I'm trying to avoid the spoilers of course.
you will find out about it eventually

>One of the few times I mentioned MLP at all IRL with my family
imagine saying this in front of your family: "Oh, hi Twilight. What a nice surprise! I was about to watch an episode of MLP tonight and...wait, what are you doing in the news? how did you get here?"

Who would have bet that ponies would enter in the mainstream news about a political topic? No wonder a few fans had to explain their surprise and explain what she had to do with it.

>I was just somewhat unsure if it b fair to consider her a bit too insane and jerkish. Not something that bugged me personally but I was thinking of consistency and just thinking back to the last 4 seasons or so.
from season 6 onwards...erm, if I´ve got to pick something unexpected from her, it would be her rage towards her friends (particularly at Pinkie Pie) after getting kicked in Mount Aris.I don´t find it worrisome but others found it as such.

>It was amazing
indeed. Not as impressive as Frenemies but for sure, it continued two simultaneous acts gracefully without meeting directly between each other.

>Perhaps even to a lesser extent for the Summer Sun Setback as well.
for Twilight´s arc, it surely does. I like getting that additional reward for watching the material in order all the way through the list. It´s like listening to a cohesive album, each piece can go independently but the added bonus of following the way it is intended to consume it, whenever it pays off, damn it feels good.


Anon 09/13/2019 (Fri) 21:49:48 [Preview] No.4585 del
(8.85 KB 250x250 1567767754902s.jpg)
Let's see if I can post my full thoughts before I have to leave on an errand.


Anon 09/13/2019 (Fri) 21:51:00 [Preview] No.4586 del
>>4585
>inb4 the bridges collapse all over again....


Anon 09/13/2019 (Fri) 21:55:45 [Preview] No.4587 del
The Summer Sun Setback maybe the best episode in regards to the season arch. Maybe not in a fan service perspective (because Frenemies is hard to top) but from a storyline perspective? Yes. I'm almost at a loss of where to start on this so this could be a bit more rambling than normal. This episode did the transfer of power right in so many ways. The sisters announcing that this would be the last Summer Sun Celebration and that the time was nearing for the transfer of power was so much better than how the season opener handled it. Rather than being stupid and arbitrary to the point where makes even by the show's own lax internal logic it makes the princesses seem a bit idiotic and almost gives a thread to canon of some darker interpretations of Twilight princesshood (it being forced upon her, her being driven away from the life she should be living) this episode made it feel natural. She has grown a bit. It feels like a natural flow organically. Twilight Sparkle felt like Twilight Sparkle in this roll. Her move to surprise the princesses with the Festival of the Two Sisters was the most Twilight Sparkle way of her making a move outside following the cues of others while still being 100% who she is. It showed a bit of leadership and the roll of the princess while showing it was the Princess of Friendship taking power as opposed to Twilight merely replacing them in their wall.

The plot was done very well. It did everything I said above plus it was perfectly balanced between the mane6 and the villains. The latter of which also got development in their plot. I can I just say that towards montage felt so--how do I say? Air of finality to it. The music felt more to me than just the normal song and dance routine. It felt like a climax. Like... I'm having a hard time putting it to words. Everypony teaming up felt special, like we are giving it our all, once again for one of the last times. I also dig the night in city setting, even if that didn't really play into the plot and tbh this is more of a personal take away from it. It reminded me of A Canterlot Wedding when they Twilight and her friends were sitting at the table. Okay, perhaps that was a bit esoteric to point out. Basically, the A plot was /comfy/ for me. So many things in this episode just felt they were done so well. I only had two quips which are so minor they don't affect the rating (which I'll point out below).

9.5/10


Anon 09/13/2019 (Fri) 21:59:23 [Preview] No.4588 del
>>4586
Noooooooooooooooo! Not the bridges!


Anon 09/13/2019 (Fri) 21:59:29 [Preview] No.4589 del
Horse fucker boards are disgusting bullshit.


Anon 09/13/2019 (Fri) 22:04:52 [Preview] No.4591 del
Biggest quip with the episode has to do with the Flaming Sky Firework Troupe. On it's face it seems ridiculous that a group of ponies who are preforming in what one would think is a very high honor would suddenly think its beneath them. Though that's basic logic and it needs to be judged by what had been previously established in the show over just us trying to put real world logic onto it. At least harshly. Such a path of criticism isn't unfair all the time but to try to hold this show to a real world logical standard can be unfair based on the limits of it's medium as a 22 minute show that was originally meant to sell toys (even if it has evolved highly past it) and the fact that when I've seen people try to apply it strongly it is often arbitrary and applied unevenly. Imagine some anon saying: "it makes no sense how quickly these ponies act in such a blind heard mentality in NuMLP, they should go back to simpler times! Sweet and Elite was comfy" in the same breath. Truth is, we have seen this dynamic before plenty of times, especially within the elite and upper class. You can still muster an argument against it in the form that within the show's universe preforming for the princesses would probably be the highest honor and the social hierarchy that is at play with them has the princess atop it. But we have seen hints of the elite itself sometimes hinted at having a relationship with the princesses that isn't entirely one of one reverence and respect. So, while it does drive me a bit batty, I cannot say that it's going against the standards set by the show. Though I still would've changed one thing: Fire Flare shouldn't have joined the ponies in being stuck up and quiting. The others I think can get by with the excuse of the fact the based on the dialog with Crissy in disguise when she said they have no room for anypony else that it seems that the others are voluntary/second job over a full term career path. But for her, I think if we go by the show's logic more than likely Fire Flare special talent has something to do with performance since she is the one leading it and it still seems a bit much for the pony whose special talent and career maybe based on performance and art swayed against what her special talent is. Yet even here, that's still just an assumption. Her cutie mark could have to do with killing blueberries for all I know and I'd be done the wiser till it was stated. In anycase, while I did give it a lot of thought and it does indeed annoy me some, can't really hold it against the episode and didn't harm my enjoyment. I didn't even get into how from a storytelling perspective with their 22 minute runtime how they have to have things be simple and quick at the expense of real world logic just to let the plot move along and so the kids can understand the message


Anon 09/13/2019 (Fri) 22:05:52 [Preview] No.4592 del
>>4588
well,maybe you won´t feel sad now but this sad aspect of the Golden Gate will:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicides_at_the_Golden_Gate_Bridge[/spoiler]

There are times that one prefers staying as an ignorant forever instead of knowing certain grim things out there....

>>4589
oh hi, can I help you?


Anon 09/13/2019 (Fri) 22:08:30 [Preview] No.4593 del
(262.85 KB 422x300 1568372970252.gif)
>>4589
And were glad you could join us in it brother!


Anon 09/13/2019 (Fri) 22:14:19 [Preview] No.4594 del
>>4593
he wants some fun. Edgy from the outside, rainbows from the inside.

It usually happens to those who visit the board for the first time. They don´t know what they have truly missed and they feel insecure, hence the disgusting adjective.

Also those ponies rock out the hell out of that vehicle...

the bird still doesn´t know how to do it though


Anon 09/13/2019 (Fri) 22:25:33 [Preview] No.4595 del
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Alright. Something else I wanted to note is that the animation and art in this episode at times seemed a few steps above par. I don't have much to say here it expect this is another factor why I put this episode 0.5 from 10. It isn't the coolest but it felt like some little minor flares and touches were put when there didn't need to be. Like with the weather or fireworks just seemed to be a little bit better done than your standard episode.

>>4592
That would also make Dolores feel sad.

>>4594
Didn't somepony recently shitpost before? not talking about carrot-dash fag Wonder if it's him.


Anon 09/13/2019 (Fri) 22:34:08 [Preview] No.4596 del
(903.62 KB 497x446 1568348175435.gif)
Didn't finish in time. Oh well, got mane thoughts. Expect a couple more posts later. See ya around /endpone/!


Anon 09/13/2019 (Fri) 22:47:21 [Preview] No.4598 del
>>4595
>That would also make Dolores feel sad.
no wonder it would. I encountered about the topic of suicide last night and I discovered that little aspect. We all have been living in a lie for a year and a half, not for the wrong reasons but for reasons that one would have liked to omit or deny.

>Didn't somepony recently shitpost before? not talking about carrot-dash fag Wonder if it's him.
it´s another one that simply came, replied to the first thread because it´s the fastest way to shitpost and leave without looking back. Dashfag is too busy shitposting his precious pictures.

I don´t see him shitposting the star in reverse (which simply means edginess for how it´s used).

>>4596
>Oh well, got mane thoughts. Expect a couple more posts later. See ya around /endpone/!
okay perfect, at least you´ve had time for it. Sorry to have flooded them among quick shitposts but I will reply to them properly as usual.

As for now, have a nice day. /)


Anon 09/14/2019 (Sat) 01:21:33 [Preview] No.4601 del
Okay, my thoughts continued!

Two magical related things here I like to note before I'd get my post on miscellaneous and various smaller observations post. First, it seems that the amulet is back again in play and not a one off magical item. Though I wasn't sure it would I guess it makes sense. I have a lot of questions with it. Some of which probably won't be answered (who built it? Was it just made for Celestia and Luna?) and others that I'd think I will know by the end. Are they going to have Twilight take over lifting the sun and the moon too? Is this just a training device or is it going to be how she does it? I mean Celestia was able to raise the moon on her own for 1000 years without unless they retcon It'd be interesting if they did completely walk away from their cutie marks related jobs in terms of the lore of the show and how much it plays into everypony's life purpose. I remember seeing fan theories that I considered pretty convincing that most times the mane6 freak out is when the mane6 went against the purposes of their cutie mark and therefore who they are do to not being able to fullfill their life purpose(like Twilight in Lesson Zero and Pinkie in Party of One). This became something I basically regarded as cannon when Magical Mystery Cure came out but I haven't reexamined in years. Still there is some interesting threads here and in case it comes into play I'd like to the thoughts out there.

Now, I have something I've thought about before to but never really got to dive into much. Rainbow Dash is a magic user. It isn't something that I think has been explored in the show much then again, their was a fair bit of episodes that I've only seen once and a few that I have missed so for all I know I could be forgetting but various times we've seen her using magic actively over passively and it's something that I need to go back and study over and see if their is any consistency with (other the obvious weather related stuff) or anything interesting that can be guessed on pegasus magic with RD and few more exotic we've seen other pegasi do more than fly and walk on clouds.


Anon 09/14/2019 (Sat) 02:12:00 [Preview] No.4602 del
Miscellaneous and random observations.

1) Security system is back! I'm surprised it still appears to be mostly in place. Especially with how Twilight's Seven ended. It's kinda funny that it was actually somewhat effective. Not in stopping them but in the fact that they actually had to think around it. They actually seemed intimidated by the fans. Was Shining right all along?

2) I should've brought it up in the magic post. Notice how when Queen Chrysalis shape shifts into a royal guard she also has a full suit of armor and a badge? Got me thinking: did she turn part of her essence into those objects or did she just conjure it up along with her disguise. The rational explanation is the latter but I could see it being the former.

3)It was cool that Twilight called back to A Trivial Pursuit
I like it when call backs happen in season, especially to a minor episode. It's not something I want to happen too often because then it could feel a bit forced and be like they were trying to go for a more linear timeline and that'd hurt the coziness of some episodes but every once in awhile is a nice treat.

4)Speaking of callbacks. Spike was reading a certain comic again.

5)My other quip. Rarity's face in pic related. Though I don't think all the new faces are bad I can certainly understand those who were put off by them with faces like this. To be fair, I think I understand what they are trying to do as in it's Rarity from a slight angle so they don't show the default side view of the head. Well at least their not with do this season but in other seasons Rarity would have just gone back to a side view default. It's the higher budget thing to try to show different angles and different faces to depart from the normal flat circle head or side view but often times it leaves us with them turning the upper snout into what looks like a giant nose and that sometimes just looks kind of unappealing. I understand them wanting to try to put extra effort and imitate the movie but in cases like this I can see those who hate them and where they are coming from.

6) Not related to the episode itself but I wonder if this is the last will see of the Villian team before the end. Haven't seen all the synopses but I know after Dragon Dropped and She Talks to Angle will be what.. 3 episodes away from the final? Yeah, not sure it'd make sense for them to have another solo, especially if they already have them set up for the endgame. Will see though but if they don't then I will be moderately disappointed that they didn't have a bit more of a presence this season.

7) Discord knows. I wonder what his endgame will be in this?
Is he eating anything important or is that a cookie?


Anon 09/14/2019 (Sat) 02:20:46 [Preview] No.4603 del
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>>4598
>no wonder it would. I encountered about the topic of suicide last night and I discovered that little aspect.
Huh, I was actually reading a bit on jumpers in 9/11 and was thinking about the topic a bit. But...

We all have been living in a lie for a year and a half, not for the wrong reasons but for reasons that one would have liked to omit or deny.
??? I may understand what your hinting at may not. Seems pretty dark idea if it's what I think you mean.

>okay perfect, at least you´ve had time for it. Sorry to have flooded them among quick shitposts but I will reply to them properly as usual.
Are you kidding? I had fun. TBH it'd be nice for us for both to be online casually shitposting.

> As for now, have a nice day. /)
You too /)


Anon 09/14/2019 (Sat) 22:30:28 [Preview] No.4611 del
>>4603
>I was actually reading a bit on jumpers in 9/11 and was thinking about the topic a bit.
that´s definitely the saddest part of it, how desperate people throw themselves to the void because they saw no escape. That´s beyond any sort of average horror or fear, describing it goes beyond words.

>Seems pretty dark idea if it's what I think you mean.
I don´t think I need more words than those because you have most likely nailed it.

>I had fun. TBH it'd be nice for us for both to be online casually shitposting.
honestly yeah, it was a little relief and bringing a little bit of more of activity to the board even if it´s not in the biggest quality. I say this because this was the improper thread (in theory, in practice one can do whatever) to do it. You have written such a long review (a quite complete one) that I have no other option than focusing my efforts on it whenever I get my thoughts clear about the episode. It felt somewhat disrespectful (to me) omitting as if it didn´t matter. However, as you are quite chill about it, your review will truly matter when I tie up loose ends.

As for now I will say that it deserves to be qualified as a true highlight so I agree with the positive overview just that I need to check how you justify that praise.


Anon 09/16/2019 (Mon) 22:21:39 [Preview] No.4615 del
well, you have written a pretty long review for The Summer Sun Setback because...

eeeyup, the episode actually deserves this amount of attention. We are facing a huge turning point that could (and most likely will) confirm the lack of any sort of season rot at this point. Before I reply to anything of Bridgefag´s review, the episode will definitely be placed in the top 5 of this season for the majority of the fanbase.

So,let´s bring the replies on!

>>4587
>Maybe not in a fan service perspective (because Frenemies is hard to top) but from a storyline perspective? Yes
it did what it have to bring on the table, combining both arcs (for Twilight and the villains) simultaneously AND organically without seeing each other at any moment.

This extra effort by itself is remarkable and it really says about the quality of this episode without any of the character entering into a stupid mode for advancing the plot.

>the time was nearing for the transfer of power was so much better than how the season opener handled it
>this episode made it feel natural. She has grown a bit. It feels like a natural flow organically. Twilight Sparkle felt like Twilight Sparkle in this roll.
it seems that your fears about the royal sisters being too instant about transferring the power are long after this episode. Twilight did act in anxious way in A Trivial Pursuit but it seems that her arc has paid off psychologically speaking.

>Her move to surprise the princesses with the Festival of the Two Sisters was the most Twilight Sparkle way of her making a move outside following the cues of others while still being 100% who she is.
expected for her character but unexpected for the plot´s standpoint.

>It did everything I said above plus it was perfectly balanced between the mane6 and the villains.
this is what absolutely sells the episode for me, how both parts manage to interact properly among themselves yet they put the solutions and the conflict for their purposes.

>I can I just say that towards montage felt so--how do I say? Air of finality to it. The music felt more to me than just the normal song and dance routine. It felt like a climax
or more like a setup for the end. As soon as the season started, the show was clearly giving signs that everything is a big climax hidden in subplots. But yeah, it felt more inspired than usual, like there is something greater that is bound to happen next.

>Everypony teaming up felt special, like we are giving it our all, once again for one of the last times.
yet it won´t be the last one but for sure,the celebrations for the Summer Sun have completed the full circle, closing up its motifs for another new ones.

>I also dig the night in city setting, even if that didn't really play into the plot and tbh this is more of a personal take away from it. It reminded me of A Canterlot Wedding when they Twilight and her friends were sitting at the table.
well, considering that Chrysalis has visited Canterlot again, you are not that far in terms of setup but in terms of time, more than one fan would get lots of nostalgia by reading these sentences.

>9.5/10
top 5? Yep,top 5 material approved and we are done just right here...

>I put this episode 0.5 from 10
>0.5
(the flower trio screams)
"THE HORROR! THE HORROR! OH! THE HORROR!"


Anon 09/16/2019 (Mon) 22:54:20 [Preview] No.4616 del
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>>4591
>it seems ridiculous that a group of ponies who are preforming in what one would think is a very high honor would suddenly think its beneath them
we could have got an interesting plot entirely dedicated to it or even gen 5 could set up some plot devices because of this. Either way, you are right that they have changed their opinions too soon, especially Fire Flare

>Such a path of criticism isn't unfair all the time but to try to hold this show to a real world logical standard can be unfair based on the limits of it's medium as a 22 minute show that was originally meant to sell toys
this shows how twisted the concept of combining three races of ponies living in a happy pinkish world could become so fucked up and become a tool of pure elitism and to its very extreme, outright racism of feeling superior towards what surround them,even if it leads to a greater purpose

I´ve had the feeling that writers could have lurked on /mlp/ about the UNICORN MASTER RACE! threads and became a reality into their own world. There are lots of ways to be meta towards the fandom but for sure, I would have to clean my eyes if this conflict was set up towards the fandom´s logic about the three races.

>Imagine some anon saying: "it makes no sense how quickly these ponies act in such a blind heard mentality in NuMLP, they should go back to simpler times! Sweet and Elite was comfy" in the same breath.
oh don´t worry, they have already done that. I´ve lost my count about how a couple of vocal shitposters complained about this show not feeling like season 1 and/or season 2 before A Canterlot Wedding.

>Truth is, we have seen this dynamic before plenty of times, especially within the elite and upper class.
eeeyup, but never in such a harsh/direct point of conflict (among other ones) and putting it on practice. It makes you feel that ponies are as equally easy to manipulate as humans.

>You can still muster an argument against it in the form that within the show's universe preforming for the princesses would probably be the highest honor and the social hierarchy that is at play with them has the princess atop it.
sorry for justifying this with a real world logic but that implication only works for those who have signed their absolute royalty towards the country.This means that the military forces and those who are under oath will stand towards their superior ones instead of getting convinced for such an elitist idea of that kind. The rest could become traitors at any moment if they personally feel like abandoning their previous convictions.

>The others I think can get by with the excuse of the fact the based on the dialog with Crissy in disguise when she said they have no room for anypony else that it seems that the others are voluntary/second job over a full term career path.
fair enough, they are there for voluntary reasons but considering that they are seen such as background ponies, they mean nothing in comparison to the voice that speaks in the show.

>if we go by the show's logic more than likely Fire Flare special talent has something to do with performance since she is the one leading it and it still seems a bit much for the pony whose special talent and career maybe based on performance and art swayed against what her special talent is.
you know that performances could be used for taking the power right? Just because she doesn´t have an implied cutie mark for gore stuff, it doesn´t mean that she could use performances for another leader whose such ideas could sound convincing to her.

>I didn't even get into how from a storytelling perspective with their 22 minute runtime how they have to have things be simple and quick at the expense of real world logic just to let the plot move along and so the kids can understand the message
it did surprise me how they have implemented this topic for this format, but if that wasn´t enough, causing a conflict about it in such a short span of time.

However, this is the show that has produced the Cutie Map...


Anon 09/16/2019 (Mon) 23:02:50 [Preview] No.4617 del
>>4595
>I wanted to note is that the animation and art in this episode at times seemed a few steps above par.
I noticed that with the illumination and the shadows.

>It isn't the coolest but it felt like some little minor flares and touches were put when there didn't need to be. Like with the weather or fireworks just seemed to be a little bit better done than your standard episode.
you have posted a little clip that in fact, stand above the rest.

Still, no episode has seen such a big increase of quality in its animation like Princess Twilight Sparkle. That premiere still takes the crown about this aspect.

Either way, it feels nice that the backgrounds have had that big amount of detail since long ago. This praise could go for any episode but I think that it´s the right time to point out and admire their work for delivering more quality than this franchise deserved before this generation.


Anon 09/16/2019 (Mon) 23:40:45 [Preview] No.4618 del
>>4601
>Some of which probably won't be answered (who built it? Was it just made for Celestia and Luna?) and others that I'd think I will know by the end.
considering the surprises that this episode has delivered and the direction of this season, I lean towards the latter.

>Are they going to have Twilight take over lifting the sun and the moon too?
she already did that......in the season 4 finale (without taking over of course)

>It'd be interesting if they did completely walk away from their cutie marks related jobs in terms of the lore of the show and how much it plays into everypony's life purpose
a down to earth life that sounds pretty interesting. I guess that the only canon thing that we are going to get is Between Dusk and Dawn. Celestia could probably become a teacher and Luna a mentor for the children,I suppose.

>This became something I basically regarded as cannon when Magical Mystery Cure came out but I haven't reexamined in years.
yeah even though I personally don´t take that episode all that seriously because of its musical nature and its rushed production. It´s canon sure but I don´t really feel like taking it that seriously. A Royal Problem did this as well and The Cutie Pox exaggerated it to such an overblown way that...well, Cutie Marks by themselves cause flexible plot devices that even some of them could lead to contradictory conclusions.

>Rainbow Dash is a magic user.
>we've seen her using magic actively over passively and it's something that I need to go back and study over and see if their is any consistency with (other the obvious weather related stuff) or anything interesting that can be guessed on pegasus magic with RD and few more exotic we've seen other pegasi do more than fly and walk on clouds.
I suppose that´s the specialty that comes from her cutie mark. Keep in mind that all the ponies have magic (or magical energy) inside and the biggest justification that I have to back this up is Tirek. He sucks up and drains all the energy coming from their bodies so I suppose that´s why the three races gain their abilities (this leaves a grey area if flying could be seen as a magical or a technical feature for the pegasi though). Also, friendship is magic....this sounds redundant but considering what Rainbow Dash has had to go through, it´s no wonder that her character development has made her also more skilled at facing the problems that come from the weather.


Anon 09/17/2019 (Tue) 00:04:22 [Preview] No.4619 del
>>4602
>Is he eating anything important or is that a cookie?
eh, he is fine. If he didn´t do anything chaotic during all the episode, I don´t believe the way that he closed the episode affects in any sort of form.

>It's kinda funny that it was actually somewhat effective. Not in stopping them but in the fact that they actually had to think around it. They actually seemed intimidated by the fans. Was Shining right all along?
well, at least they have become more competent and sophisticated. About freaking time that the fans even made Tirek to give up with the plan for a second. About Shining´s choice, I think that he still remembers his "unique" wedding.

>when Queen Chrysalis shape shifts into a royal guard she also has a full suit of armor and a badge? Got me thinking: did she turn part of her essence into those objects or did she just conjure it up along with her disguise. The rational explanation is the latter but I could see it being the former.
I guess changeling go with the full pack of the disguise. It is indeed weird (and somewhat chaotic to think about) that the objects can become a separate thing from the disguises they copy. This could break the laws of creating and destroying matter in a small scale.

>Spike was reading a certain comic again.
imagine thinking that the show would leave it right here...

>I wonder if this is the last will see of the Villian team before the end.
unless The Last Problem involves them for the plot, it is the last time before the finale.

>if they don't then I will be moderately disappointed that they didn't have a bit more of a presence this season.
prepare yourself for that...just in case.

>I think I understand what they are trying to do as in it's Rarity from a slight angle so they don't show the default side view of the head. Well at least their not with do this season but in other seasons Rarity would have just gone back to a side view default. It's the higher budget thing to try to show different angles and different faces to depart from the normal flat circle head or side view but often times it leaves us with them turning the upper snout into what looks like a giant nose and that sometimes just looks kind of unappealing. I understand them wanting to try to put extra effort and imitate the movie but in cases like this I can see those who hate them and where they are coming from.
yeah, sometimes the simpler solutions are the best. If it´s isn´t broken, don´t fix it with another thing that leads to worse results. I will say that it doesn´t look as obvious as Celestia´s faces but yeah, the Toon Boom animation has already offered the high quality that the animators are trying to attempt within the flash style. I suppose that we´ll get used to seeing them in gen 5 with the new artstyle.

Not a bad intention (in fact, they are looking for uppering the visual aspect) but as you have cherished before, the backgrounds and the illumination are what have truly paid off here in practice.


Anon 09/21/2019 (Sat) 23:47:52 [Preview] No.4638 del
so,despite leaving a PoLS tonight, I will be posting soon my thoughts about the next episode: She Talks To Angel.

It won't require much thought nor depth but it seems that Fluttershy won't get any solo episodes anymore. One can have a comfy time watching this episode because it's pure slice of life material and it is as simple as its promise sounds.


Anon 09/21/2019 (Sat) 23:56:20 [Preview] No.4639 del
>>4638
*premise

basically without watching the episode,it leaves little to no room for questions where this plot device is actually going for.


Anon 09/22/2019 (Sun) 01:47:11 [Preview] No.4648 del
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>>4638
>seen up to 20
I need to catch up. I still haven't seen She talks to Angle. Weeks been a bit crazy as certain family member that I've mentioned before needing help...

Not going rush but I'm hoping to have a break so I may get caught up because no matter what I'm going to watch the final ASAP after it offically airs in the states.


Anon 09/22/2019 (Sun) 07:04:47 [Preview] No.4653 del
>>4648
>I need to catch up.I still haven't seen She talks to Angle.
don´t worry, I can postpone it a little bit if you don´t want to see them before the first contact with it (even though the episode is nowhere near as the league that one can imagine from the final so,I don´t think it´s a matter of spoilers for this episode specifically.


>Not going rush but I'm hoping to have a break so I may get caught up
I am watching them with the same rhythm that US airings do so add episode 21.

However, that doesn´t mean I will talk about them over here because the first contact serves to watch and warm up with them at my own leisure without obsessing all that much compared to what I discuss over here.

>Weeks been a bit crazy as certain family member that I've mentioned before needing help...
yeah I know that your circumstances aren´t the most fitting for spending hours to any sort of entertainment, this is why I am waiting for you and whenever you are ready or manage to expose your thoughts here, then I watch the episode again for analyzing it right before reflecting my thoughts here.


Anon 09/23/2019 (Mon) 06:36:19 [Preview] No.4672 del
>>4653
>don´t worry, I can postpone it a little bit if you don´t want to see them before the first contact with it (even though the episode is nowhere near as the league that one can imagine from the final so,I don´t think it´s a matter of spoilers for this episode specifically.
Don't postpone on my account. I think I have a chance coming up tommorow or the next and sometimes one's thoughts can leave ya as fast as they come.

>this is why I am waiting for you and whenever you are ready or manage to expose your thoughts here, then I watch the episode again for analyzing it right before reflecting my thoughts here.
Thanks though /)


Anon 09/24/2019 (Tue) 01:25:46 [Preview] No.4674 del
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Minor PoLS.

Will reply to things in more fullness later + next time I post should have a review. Note: I trying to see if I can get /flutter/ sorted out again so we will see how that goes TBH I think it was just that I sent the email before all the stuff with the migration and 8chan went down.


Anon 09/24/2019 (Tue) 22:49:08 [Preview] No.4675 del
>>4672
>sometimes one's thoughts can leave ya as fast as they come.
definitely not when one watches the episode right before posting the thoughts on the thread.

>>4674
>Will reply to things in more fullness later + next time I post should have a review.
alright, no problem

>I trying to see if I can get /flutter/ sorted out again so we will see how that goes
you mean about claiming the ownership? As for now, it doesn´t seem that they have taken it into account.

>it was just that I sent the email before all the stuff with the migration and 8chan went down.
this should explain the lack of response towards your message, they were more focused on the website in general. The situation has changed a lot since then (and I don´t get the 500 errors anymore by the way)


Anon 09/27/2019 (Fri) 19:52:27 [Preview] No.4687 del
Angel Bunny in Fluttershy's body was not something I ever wanted but man it was much more awesome then expected.

This episode was a little better than I had thought. It may sound a bit strange but I thought they nailed Angel Bunny. I couldn't believe how much it felt like another character in Fluttershy's body over just making it sound like Fluttershy was simply being rude. This is more interesting then it first seems because Angel Bunny's character itself really hasn't been explored much beyond "Angel Bunny is a jerk and pest" Though small it gave Angel Bunny a bit of personality and character growth (wow, didn't think that would ever be coming from my month). The lesson itself was solid enough but from an inuniverse perspective it feels a bit wonky. It's interesting how the friendship school sometimes is acknowledged as a time strain yet in most episodes is a complete non factor in most. The Mane 6 are traveling and popping up in random places as much as they'd ever have. So it feels like a lesson that almost doesn't matter. As we've been told "Cartoon Logic" so it's more of a moderately sized nitpick.

8/10

Other notes: Is this the first acknowledgement by word that the animals that Fluttershy takes care of do eat each other? I remember that being a big debate when Equestria was seen as a utopia back in the earlier days. Even then though with the presence of monsters and Fluttershy having been seen feeding a bear fish does disprove that all the way back then.

I know some will misunderstand (and gripe) that Fluttershy was having the predators on a vegetarian diet but the dialog clearly implies that was only while at her sanctuary.

Did Zecora go too far?


Anon 09/27/2019 (Fri) 20:01:22 [Preview] No.4688 del
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Another thing: this just feels like one of those episodes that "hey, the end is near let's try this." Just a bit zany/crazy idea that you try because it's the last season and you might as well spend it on a spare episode. TBH, this season almost surprised me by how normal it has felt so far. Yeah, there's been some craziness that let's us know it is the last but it still often feels like any other later season of the show.

Welp now I gotta run. I have a lot more to say around here but I'm glad to be able to restart our episode discussions.


Anon 09/28/2019 (Sat) 21:44:43 [Preview] No.4689 del
So, I have recently given to this episode another try and comment about it even though in comparison to what´s coming next, it will feel somewhat short for reviewing it. Nonetheless, it does bring a few aspects that certainly were unexpected:

So, here I give my replies: She Talks To Angel (Season 9,Episode 18)

>>4687
>Angel Bunny in Fluttershy's body was not something I ever wanted
I don´t think that anyone has asked for that. I man, what could come from that plot device? Maybe there have been fans of the body swap fetish with plots that change the voices of the ones involved.

They will be disappointed with this episode because Andrea Libman keep delivering the same voice all over the episode (even though she makes it apparent with the changes of tone and arrogance) and Angel doesn´t talk at all.

>but man it was much more awesome then expected.
which means that you don´t need to have exceptional settings in order to entertain and deliver a message of empathy. Going to Seed did this as well and it only involved the Apple Family and the Sweet Apple Acres. For this episode, there have been two protagonists and two supporting characters and that was it (except the moment when Twilight and Spike appeared but that served as functional sign for telling that Fluttershy was desperately asking for help)

>It may sound a bit strange but I thought they nailed Angel Bunny. I couldn't believe how much it felt like another character in Fluttershy's body over just making it sound like Fluttershy was simply being rude. This is more interesting then it first seems because Angel Bunny's character itself really hasn't been explored much beyond "Angel Bunny is a jerk and pest"
that´s the key point. This drives to a question of: where do we draw the line about non talkative animals/species being rational or not? I mean, we have seen Angel acting like a jerk most of the time (Putting Your Hoof Down comes to my mind) to Fluttershy and it´s really ironic that he has that name when the actual results show literally the opposite. Sure, he has had personal preferences and tastes but was that enough to tell that the brain works enough to be expressive and go beyond intuitive responses?

The question even gets more twisted when the ordinary characters are colourful ponies in this universe.... God, my brain is going to implode if I think too much about this.

Let´s say that there haven´t been moments in which we could have considered Angel as a proper character to take into account, it would sound like fanfiction to anyone before this episode. I truly admire those who have written Angel as a rational character in the past, you are true seers even if those fics were jokes or mindless accidents.

>a bit of personality and character growth (wow, didn't think that would ever be coming from my month)
it sounds weird because there hasn´t voice coming from him until now. Sure, the episode itself goes through the formula of body swapping the protagonists yet Angel hasn´t had any spoken communication.


Anon 09/28/2019 (Sat) 21:47:45 [Preview] No.4690 del
>>4687
>The lesson itself was solid enough
yeah, it goes through the message of empathy, understanding each other´s lives by living them by experience for a short while. The closest episode that shares this plot device is A Royal Problem where both princesses changed their cutie marks and jobs.

>from an inuniverse perspective it feels a bit wonky. It's interesting how the friendship school sometimes is acknowledged as a time strain yet in most episodes is a complete non factor in most.
>The Mane 6 are traveling and popping up in random places as much as they'd ever have.
the time strains and the fact that the mane 6 have had like 2 or 3 jobs at the same time has been executed by raising a few questions and some sort of constant inconsistency for that matter. I wonder how they distribute their time and are able to work for all they want to do. The Mane 6 might not get placed as the most spectacular heroes you will see in a cartoon, yet they go with the anti hero formula to its very extreme sometimes. How do they handle it and pretend that nothing happens between both jobs? Don´t they have personal problems at that?

For Fluttershy at least, we have seen that. But...

>it feels like a lesson that almost doesn't matter. As we've been told "Cartoon Logic" so it's more of a moderately sized nitpick
indeed, that flaw that has been kept since the debut of said school.....for now

>Is this the first acknowledgement by word that the animals that Fluttershy takes care of do eat each other?
considering that Fluttershy has been absent for long periods, I wouldn´t get surprised by that dynamic (let alone if Fluttershy has told some advised them beforehand), not to mention that they don´t only have a limited space anymore (Fluttershy´s house) but a whole sanctuary for their own business and/or conflicts.

>Equestria was seen as a utopia back in the earlier days.
it´s still an utopia to some extent, my question about rationality confirms that these established rules are undefined yet special to its universe.

>with the presence of monsters and Fluttershy having been seen feeding a bear fish does disprove that all the way back then.
the ordinary trophic chain still prevails so yeah.

>some will misunderstand (and gripe) that Fluttershy was having the predators on a vegetarian diet but the dialog clearly implies that was only while at her sanctuary.
I am implying that she has used the stare in order to intimidate them and obey her rules. Taking them as "rational" creatures, I uppose that they stay there as some sort of contract for doing what they are doing even though it manipulates their own nature. Kind of like domesticated animals when they aren´t all that conventional in the real world.

>Did Zecora go too far?
considering what has happened in A Health of Information, this kind of looks like a snack.


Anon 09/28/2019 (Sat) 22:03:13 [Preview] No.4691 del
>>4688
>this just feels like one of those episodes that "hey, the end is near let's try this."
do you think that this will be the only time where they apply that mentality you have brought onto the table?

My answer is: Definitely not.

>this season almost surprised me by how normal it has felt so far.
>it still often feels like any other later season of the show.
well, it certainly seems like they could have gone further with this gen but better end up before it grows stale to everyone and reach the zombie state even though it proves how healthy this show has stayed until its very end and how it has had reservations and more fuel hidden and developed through the episodes to the point where a 10th could have been delivered.

As you say, it seems more like a continuation of the 8th season instead of setting itself up for the ending even though episodes like the premiere, the villains´arc along with Twilight´s, The Last Laugh´s first two minutes, Uprooted´s song and the feelings of world´s completion when the Royal Sisters were living as tourists for a day and the reunion of the characters the CMC have known in the past among other things; all of them drive you to think that we are witnessing more than a simple continuation.

>I have a lot more to say around here but I'm glad to be able to restart our episode discussions.
one appreciates that at its core. It makes things more lively. You were promising this days ago and it finally happened so yeah, glad to see that you have been able to do this as well.


Anon 09/29/2019 (Sun) 01:01:24 [Preview] No.4692 del
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>>4690
>yeah, it goes through the message of empathy, understanding each other´s lives by living them by experience for a short while. The closest episode that shares this plot device is A Royal Problem where both princesses changed their cutie marks and jobs.
Very good comparison.

>the time strains and the fact that the mane 6 have had like 2 or 3 jobs at the same time has been executed by raising a few questions and some sort of constant inconsistency for that matter. I wonder how they distribute their time and are able to work for all they want to do.
The others I think the school is what breaks the camels back is the school. otherwise you still make somewhat an excuse for Rarity is managing a growing business but also has underlings and by this point can afford not to do custom orders at this point, so in some ways she may actually have more free time. Twilight Sparkle, outside of some ceremonial duties, whole purpose is (at least for now) the princess of friendship. The other mane5 and her have to maintain a friendship and they keep playing up the fact that all six will would rule, hanging out with her friends is part of her job. Apple Jack is already a bit pushing it with how often she traveled and how sometimes they showed how much work was in the farm, but it was still wasn't completely inexcusable (you could say that she had more free time in non harvest season and that she hasn't been usually away that long). With the school however is what puts a real strain on this lifestyle. Rainbow Dash maybe the best example. She a Wonderbolt, a head weathermare for a small town and unspecified area around it. still adventures/regularly travels with the mane6 . And somehow still has enough time to make join in a myriad of small town events, keep active in at least 1 fandom, and vacation with Granny Smith at the same time. This is all with the added burden of being a teacher.

>indeed, that flaw that has been kept since the debut of said school.....for now
I don't know how'd they suddenly introduce that as a element this late. Unless you are hinting at something from a future episode that haven't seen yet.

>I am implying that she has used the stare in order to intimidate them and obey her rules. Taking them as "rational" creatures, I uppose that they stay there as some sort of contract for doing what they are doing even though it manipulates their own nature. Kind of like domesticated animals when they aren´t all that conventional in the real world.
You know that could work. Ponies are arguably bending the natures natural course. Just a bit better then we humans are. Then again I think magic needs to be included in this analysis. But I have other things to get too...

>it´s still an utopia to some extent, my question about rationality confirms that these established rules are undefined yet special to its universe.
I will be back on this topic too.


Anon 09/29/2019 (Sun) 01:09:45 [Preview] No.4693 del
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>>4691
>My answer is: Definitely not.
Indeed. I already know from what little I know of one of the episodes there is another premise like that all the way.

>all of them drive you to think that we are witnessing more than a simple continuation.
I really don't have a full opinion on it yet. TBH, you could make the case that they wasted some opportunity by having average B team episode plots and sometimes ignoring certain plot elements they introduced in the past. Yet, for me so far I've actually enjoyed this season more than season 8 and though I think they perhaps could have done more won't be able to judge fully yet till it's over at some moments but remember I'd rather have it solid then overcrowded!

>one appreciates that at its core. It makes things more lively. You were promising this days ago and it finally happened so yeah, glad to see that you have been able to do this as well.
Dragon Dropped up next.


Anon 09/29/2019 (Sun) 06:06:01 [Preview] No.4694 del
Alright, what can I say about this episode?

Well, tbh, it's an ambivalence. The story was done for the most part fine. On Spike's end, it feels very organic and realistic of a young kid to grow out of a crush like that. On Rarity's end, she's in character enough, she's been way worse in her pettiness and her selfish side. In fact I got a bit of a kick out of her being suddenly so possessive on Spike. Albeit with a moderate weirdness of a relationship that was previously defined in terms of of an unrequited love on one end and one of at worst a child she took advantage of and a best one she humored and found could be a help at times. Still, Rarity's fondness for him seems very equal, as if he wasn't a child. It feels slightly off to me. As for Sparity? Was it a good closure? Organically as a child losing a crush without much fan fare feels pretty realistic but the problem comes from a plot standpoint. It isn't so much closure as much as something that they just swept under the rug. Yet where was Sparity to go? It rarely came up as more than a gag and even in Spike and Rarity episodes outside of Secret of My Excess it was just there without changing its status much. Yes, Rarity and Spike's friendship evolved, but not the crush. Now where is one to go with it? In my personal opinion, Sparity would make hard to happen without being kinda creepy. Arguably from a storytelling perspective real life 100% is the most boring way to end a plot thread (but still has some value with lessons). My thoughts on the best way to end it would be to have it fully tackled with Spike being the one learning the lesson that he couldn't be with her and it changing fully to a healthy friendship. Though I must say I'm not sure I'm willing to call it a bad ending having Spike just simply grow out of it isn't offensively bad and makes sense with real world logic. Yet I have found myself yet another angle of attack with the fact that Spike itself acknowledging it/the episode being about Spike realizing that he doesn't have a thing for Rarity would be a far cooler plot point!

One other thing I forgot to mention in my wall of text is how well I think Gabby fits here. IDK what to say but Gabby befriending Spike isn't something that would come to mind yet felt so natural to me. Heck, Gabby felt more realized as a character then most the Student 6. Yet the reason for this could just as be that we've know her a little longer and that student 6 have much more hinted at and needing for exploration then a simple minor regular. There was a lot of elements I liked in this episode TBH.

How do I rate this? I actually enjoyed it most of the time. I think though from a storytelling closure perspective it failed. I also think the POV should be on Spike not Rarity for both storytelling and the purposes of a stronger more powerful lesson. Problem is I never was invested in Sparity. Yet it is still as something they ran with that I think you can make a case they could still have acknowledged better then this.

My rating is:
Mindless pony episode:7.3/10
As a resolution to Sparity: 5.9/10


Anon 09/29/2019 (Sun) 06:13:40 [Preview] No.4695 del
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Now one little note: I get why they are really emphasizing Rarity's lisps as it fits the type of character Rarity is but it still often looks off. Sometimes it looks alright and other times it looks kinda weird. This type of stuff though is more of an observation than an outright complaint.


Anon 09/29/2019 (Sun) 06:20:42 [Preview] No.4696 del
Also this. Then again, perhaps Fluttershy has no time to do this as much anymore if we go by last episode. Perhaps that would've been a topic to explore too yet I could see objections from the fact that such dynamic could be against the very theme of the show depending how they went with it and what was implied.


Anon 09/29/2019 (Sun) 06:27:31 [Preview] No.4697 del
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>>4691
>one appreciates that at its core. It makes things more lively. You were promising this days ago and it finally happened so yeah, glad to see that you have been able to do this as well.
Have more good news as well already seen the next episode and I think I maybe fully caught up this week.

will get to some other replies later. including your belated but much appreciated review

See you around /endpone/! *Disappears into light!*


Anon 09/29/2019 (Sun) 23:33:30 [Preview] No.4698 del
>>4697
well,my PoLS becomes true tonight. You have already reviewed Dragon Dropped and unlike the previous episode,this isn't as easy to judge as I did yesterday.

Part of the spoilers that I had seen on /mlp/ were related to the ship and consequently,the drama that followed it overnight.

In the meantime,I have left a lot of replies all over the long threads (including a few unexpected posts like the personal thread or reviving your fic,it feels weird that I have decided to do it this week). I still haven't watched beyond ep 21 but I suppose that I will give the CMC episode a try before judging this one deeply.


>See you around /endpone/
same as well.


Anon 10/01/2019 (Tue) 06:44:16 [Preview] No.4699 del
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>>4698
> You have already reviewed Dragon Dropped and unlike the previous episode,this isn't as easy to judge as I did yesterday.
It isn't. Though its no big an issue as Scootaloo's parents. I have been debating to myself. Worse (or better?) is that I never really cared for the plot point and found the episode mostly enjoyable yet I think of ways to look upon it that make it seem quite poor in how they handled it. Feels like pic related.

>In the meantime,I have left a lot of replies all over the long threads (including a few unexpected posts like the personal thread or reviving your fic,it feels weird that I have decided to do it this week).
Working on getting to'em. Been a bit busy with stuff.

PoLS tonight as well I suppose.


Anon 10/01/2019 (Tue) 21:24:57 [Preview] No.4700 del
Well, I am torn by two sides tonight:

The bad news is that I have to figure out and expose properly what I have to say about Dragon Dropped.

The good news, nonetheless, are that the next three episode don´t raise as many questions as this one does. In fact, they might be seen as highlights in the end but as for now, before getting into them in this thread, I must admit that I have really good impressions about the next three (20,21 and 22).

Also, posting a nice picture for the digits.


Anon 10/01/2019 (Tue) 22:24:52 [Preview] No.4701 del
Well, having watched it for a 2nd time, I think that I will give my thoughts instead because this one is a little bit more different than usual, not for the show but for the community.

>>4694
>what can I say about this episode?
>it's an ambivalence. The story was done for the most part fine
>I actually enjoyed it most of the time.
I could sum it up with this, you have definitely said it with these lines but I feel like I should go a little bit further before replying to your posts about this episode.

This episode by itself cannot be rated lower than The Last Crusade or be seen as a low point of the season. As far as I am concerned, I can´t find any atrocity signs in the writing (in general, I cannot find them easily for this season, it feels like a polished version of season 8).

I am typing the easier things first: this episode doesn´t have anyone out of character here, they act fairly reasonably and Rarity actually comes back to her dramatic antics (with the sofa for crying about her troubles like in the past seasons) so along with the music for practicing about her forgiveness, these moments stand out as the comedy elements for this episode.

A few relevant aspects worth mentioning is that the show keeps its consistency about reintroducing Gabby in Ponyville. It´s ironic but nobody would have bet about the post office being such an effective place to work around and use it as a plot device for the last seasons. This place has become even more relevant than the town hall or even the Sugarcube Corner and it started because of Derpy´s fame. As soon as writers figured out what she works at, her constant presences related to her job have made this place even more important than one would have expected at first.

Another detail that I should mention is that the friendship established between Gabby and Spike is because they have things in common but one detail that I have particularly liked a lot is that she said that both dragons and griffons don´t have the greatest fame out there. I´ve liked quite a lot about this acknowledgement and she admits that she is working for improving their image at what she does. Another case,besides the students, that whatever species is involved in the writing, there will be reminiscences of pony culture or at least, have an indirect influence both in the writing and in Equestria itself.

Lastly (even though this is more aimed at the writing direction in general than this episode), there are always constant references to previous material (Power Ponies, the gem cave becoming a constant place to visit, the shops and the spa of Ponyville...)and it shows how even characters like the students don´t feel all that weird these days, particularly at the scene in which Gallus receives the letter. So many new faces yet the feelings are still the same in the old settings that we have known, this episode reaffirms that the coziness still has a place until the very end of the series.


Anon 10/01/2019 (Tue) 22:56:56 [Preview] No.4702 del
Leaving those thoughts here in public, I believe that I should be focusing on what surrounds this "controversy", am I?

There is a huge problem for asking thoughts towards a ship like Sparity because this means that you are going to get a biased opinion towards this episode because....I wasn´t there when this ship was established, I didn´t experience that era of innocence about writing for background characters, random ships and diversified headcanons so I have to mostly stick what the past canon episodes have shown to me.

I don´t know precisely what logic follows the ship for the fanbase and how much should really matter. I am implying that the parody of A Dog and A Pony Show gave this idea about shipping a young dragon with a pony like Rarity, boosted with a slice of life episode like Secret of My Excess (also referencing King Kong´s skyscrapers scene). Alright, I suppose that the affection of Rarity towards the little dragon was also shown in Dragon Quest or even later in the Gauntlet of Fire.

Having said that, I am really indifferent towards this ship, I don´t find any solid logic behind it besides making a joke here and there (not sure for mocking Spike or making him somewhat interesting in front of the gallery).

However, I joined in 2014 and season 4 already happened and most of the fanbase are forgetting about an episode called Inspiration Manifestation and the fact that Spike has saved the Crystal Empire twice. The former shows how Spike doesn´t tolerate excessive capricious from Rarity (ending it with a moral of friendship instead of having a romantic tone) and the latter adds a layer to his diplomatic arc, meaning that he relies less and less about using that "ship" as a plot device or getting less frequent over time.

This should back my thoughts up for this episode. If one analyzes it coldly, this ship didn´t make much sense but I think that the writers have simply given a warning sign to the shippers. You have shipped a pony with a dragon,how about shipping that dragon with a griffon? Someone has to hold the staff´s beer here.

As a result,this episode has cooled down the ship and claim that Rarity should be seen as his friend, not as a love interest because other ones could come instead that fall down better into his preferences. It opens up one door slightly for Gabby by giving her some excuse to write about her but the writers have also transmitted that fan material about Spike and Rarity shouldn´t end because of this, just that they should be seen as close traditional contacts rather than a pairing (they have had adventures together without any hints of love thrown into the screen for very long periods)

The episode is quite enjoyable and I am implying that the drama that has happened last summer was because of the accidental explosion of leaks and all the emotions were written in order to express their anxiousness and general feelings about this show ending in this manner, so this episode was an easy target for baiting and circlejerk about how the writers have handled this subject.

So yeah, I have been entertained by it but I still admire a little bit more the following ones. I agree with Bridgefag´s rating, this should be around the good to great category: around a light 7 or so.


Anon 10/01/2019 (Tue) 23:24:52 [Preview] No.4703 del
>>4694
>it feels very organic and realistic of a young kid to grow out of a crush like that.
it was simply bound to happen. Hence I cannot rate this episode lower than a 7, the characters here have been written properly without acting out of what we expect from them.

>she's in character enough, she's been way worse in her pettiness and her selfish side.
eeeyup, in fact, Inspiration Manifestation actually shows those extremes even though for the most time she was possessed by a spell.

>I got a bit of a kick out of her being suddenly so possessive on Spike.
>Rarity's fondness for him seems very equal, as if he wasn't a child. It feels slightly off to me.
this is quite possibly the most questionable part of this episode: the plot device used for this story. How is she that she is acting more possesive than usual? I get her actions of jealousy after she meets Gabby but I think that the technical problems (unrelated to the ship discussion) arise from this detail. I´ve seen more questionable plot devices than this but it´s still pretty noticeable and it´s no wonder that one raise some questions about this.

>Organically as a child losing a crush without much fan fare feels pretty realistic but the problem comes from a plot standpoint.
that´s the thing. The episode itself does make sense when it comes to its own development, the problem is when you enter into muddy waters that the community implied in an exaggerated manner.


>It rarely came up as more than a gag and even in Spike and Rarity episodes outside of Secret of My Excess it was just there without changing its status much. Yes, Rarity and Spike's friendship evolved, but not the crush.
exactly. I mean, where do you find the signs of it? One shipper could claim about those gags but when the writers had to handle them together in a full story (Secret of My Excess, Inspiration Manifestation, the dragonlands episodes...), they develop universal values of friendship and those quick gags become absolutely irrelevant when those important moments/lessons happen to them.

>Sparity would make hard to happen without being kinda creepy
the writers respond: Hold my beer, how about a griffon?(to an extent).

>My thoughts on the best way to end it would be to have it fully tackled with Spike being the one learning the lesson that he couldn't be with her and it changing fully to a healthy friendship.
not a bad ending at all, in fact, it would have completed the circle for both sides (the show and the fanbase). But...

>I'm not sure I'm willing to call it a bad ending having Spike just simply grow out of it isn't offensively bad and makes sense with real world logic.
the one that we´ve got isn´t a bad one either. I mean, Spike has had lots of other things going on for him (diplomacy with Thorax and Ember, helping Twilight in general with the school and her issues, his friendships with Discord and Big Mac, his fame in the Crystal Empire) and because of that lesser amount of time, he has only stayed as the favorite assistant for Rarity´s plans in her business. I don´t know,all of this might sound somewhat unrelated to the answer but I find that the existence of new happenings in his life has made him change in his personal preferences.

>Spike itself acknowledging it/the episode being about Spike realizing that he doesn't have a thing for Rarity would be a far cooler plot point!
that could have served as well but I guess they wanted to introduce a secondary character in order to give her a place/excuse to make her relevant.


Anon 10/01/2019 (Tue) 23:56:02 [Preview] No.4704 del
>>4694
>IDK what to say but Gabby befriending Spike isn't something that would come to mind yet felt so natural to me. Heck, Gabby felt more realized as a character then most the Student 6.
considering that she is mostly an independent character that hasn´t needed an awkward introduction such a school out of built out of nowhere, one gets a different sense towards her presence. She has had two episodes but it´s really easy to notice her optimistic chill out attitude. Not all the students have had time to flesh out properly for an entire episode (Ocellus is the prime example). It´s truly relative honestly, I have had more or less those thoughts towards Silverstream´s brother as well (both gave themselves a brofist in the Last Crusade ironically enough)

>I also think the POV should be on Spike not Rarity for both storytelling and the purposes of a stronger more powerful lesson. Problem is I never was invested in Sparity.
me neither so I haven´t felt a great urge to make it important or huge about a ship of this kind.

>Yet it is still as something they ran with that I think you can make a case they could still have acknowledged better then this.
even though there is always room for improvement. It doesn´t scream anything that makes you go "WOW!" nor this episode has a great impact to discuss about it deeply.

>>4695
>Sometimes it looks alright and other times it looks kinda weird.
I am still undecided towards these faces, I don´t give all that much of a thought but damn, they are asking for meme material from the fanbase. I believe that Celly is still the worst offender in this aspect though.

>>4696
>Perhaps that would've been a topic to explore too yet I could see objections from the fact that such dynamic could be against the very theme of the show depending how they went with it and what was implied.
wait for it because what you are mentioning will hit in other subjects....I´ll let that sink in.

>>4699
>though its no big an issue as Scootaloo's parents. I have been debating to myself.
fortunately enough, Gabby was an established character with a charismatic attitude, she hasn´t appeared out of nowhere and her appearance was well justified unlike Scoot´s parents who looked like fanfic OCs. It´s not that bad but still, I hope that I don´t get to discuss these muddy topics anymore (who would have thought that this kids show could give a headache or two for analyzing it?) unless it´s about the finale.

>think of ways to look upon it that make it seem quite poor in how they handled it. Feels like pic related.
as I say, there is always room for improvement but I cannot complain much to what we´ve got. I am actually bothered that I am not overwhelmed at all by those math operations/signs from that picture.

>Working on getting to'em. Been a bit busy with stuff.
same as well for me during these last two days. I still have to reply a couple of posts from Fluttershy´s episode but I think that I am ending this right here tonight.

Goodnight /endpone/.


Anon 10/02/2019 (Wed) 16:07:59 [Preview] No.4705 del
>>4693
>I already know from what little I know of one of the episodes there is another premise like that all the way.
eeeyup, you have probably watched it at this point

>you could make the case that they wasted some opportunity by having average B team episode plots and sometimes ignoring certain plot elements they introduced in the past
depends on the criteria and the expectations that one has for these episodes. As I don´t expect anything save the material itself, I haven´t spent my time on it.

>for me so far I've actually enjoyed this season more than season 8 and though I think they perhaps could have done more won't be able to judge fully yet till it's over at some moments but remember I'd rather have it solid then overcrowded!
indeed, better leave things when the fans don´t feel so oversaturated by ponies. At least,gen 4 remains untouched and closes the book without any chance of ruining it in the future. I didn´t ask for much save for solid material and ending this gen with a good note in general so you can tell that I am pleased because not all the series keep their quality over the years.

>>4692
>Unless you are hinting at something from a future episode that haven't seen yet.
the school backstory, I cannot explain it all that much except for introducing the characters that Hasbro ordered to the staff. About the mane 6 being busy by this, I can´t still figure out how they have found all this time to organize themselves and as you say, the time constraints should have been a plot device in the last season even though the Fluttershy episode won´t stay there alone in this aspect. It will have more impact in another episode...

>Ponies are arguably bending the natures natural course. Just a bit better then we humans are. Then again I think magic needs to be included in this analysis.
it´s kind of complicated to imply these headcanons to a general rule. Let´s say that Fluttershy handles them the best but I suppose that magic can serve as an element of writing these little holes in Equestria´s logic and how much the rules fit for the episodes.

>I think the school is what breaks the camels back is the school.
oh the sweet irony.

>Rainbow Dash maybe the best example. She a Wonderbolt, a head weathermare for a small town and unspecified area around it. still adventures/regularly travels with the mane6 . And somehow still has enough time to make join in a myriad of small town events, keep active in at least 1 fandom, and vacation with Granny Smith at the same time. This is all with the added burden of being a teacher.
fair enough, she does have a consistent responsibility in comparison to the rest along with those tasks and hobbies. It´s quite crazy to think that Rainbow was seen as lazy jerk at certain moments in the early seasons yet one wonders how she has been able to keep up with this rhythm.

>you still make somewhat an excuse for Rarity is managing a growing business but also has underlings and by this point can afford not to do custom orders at this point, so in some ways she may actually have more free time.
that could be a good theory. I mean, despite her expansions in Canterlot and Manehatten, she has assigned her workers so this means that she can simply stay in Ponyville and check those shops every now and then.

>Apple Jack is already a bit pushing it with how often she traveled and how sometimes they showed how much work was in the farm, but it was still wasn't completely inexcusable (you could say that she had more free time in non harvest season and that she hasn't been usually away that long). With the school however is what puts a real strain on this lifestyle.
fortunately enough, I don´t think that AJ is going to be all that stressed for the school anymore. I do believe that Twilight has invested more time than AJ because of the direction about the school. I could reply more to this but part of your speculations are fortunately answered.


Also, you thought Flutterbat was scary enough, then you might hold your breath for this ""character""


Anon 10/03/2019 (Thu) 05:20:43 [Preview] No.4711 del
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>>4705
Of all the pictures for you to post... Let's just say my absence was for a bit more than family troubles. You'll see PoLSP for now.


Anon 10/03/2019 (Thu) 06:23:28 [Preview] No.4712 del
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>>4705
>>4711
hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm........
I think I'm not the only one up ta something.


Anon 10/04/2019 (Fri) 21:15:51 [Preview] No.4714 del
>>4711
>Of all the pictures for you to post...
Apple Bloom must have gone through Area 51 and get her genes combined with the alien ones...because that face isn´t looking good.

>Let's just say my absence was for a bit more than family troubles.
yeah, it´s nothing new to report because we have seen that you were relieved to review again for a while. This means that your context isn´t looking all that "bright". Still, just simply reply or report for whatever you want to do over here. I can wait.

>>4712
>I think I'm not the only one up ta something.
those villains fall awfully short in comparison Nightmare Moon because she has official MTG powers. Beat her in that regard.


Anon 10/04/2019 (Fri) 21:48:28 [Preview] No.4715 del
>>4714
>This means that your context isn´t looking all that "bright".
You don't know the half of it.


Anon 10/04/2019 (Fri) 22:07:23 [Preview] No.4716 del
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>>4715
better delivering a smile from it than feeling down and pessimist towards it.

I suppose


Anon 10/05/2019 (Sat) 21:17:00 [Preview] No.4717 del
A Horse Shoe In

This episode was in the good to excellent tier for me. The whole dynamic with Dolores still being shown to be under a little pressure with her (soon to increase) duties at the friendship school and her friendship with Trixie was a good way to facilitate her temptation for cronyism was perfect and that it was established in a previous episode more so. I liked the selection process and though the candidates certainly confused me. Time Tuner was the only one that fit. I still liked the whole selection process and the attics with it (Big Mac talking to the parents especially gave me a laugh). I wondered why they didn't have Sun Burst there as a candidate but I can understand why they saved him for the end and he would probably be the best fit. Overall pretty enjoyable.

8.5/10 is my rating.

Other notes:
I don't understand any in universe explanation for why ponies like Big Mac and Octavia would be interested in the job. I suppose for the former it could be something like wanting to work where his sister works and perhaps not realizing how big of a job it could be. Octavia I can't think of any out of the top of my head and seems pretty random though her almost wining it before realizing how it would affect her music career was pretty interesting and and is a feather in her cap as a feat.

Twilight Sparkle prepping for the transition of power was also a nice background dynamic. It gave the episode a sense of the nearing end. Though I wonder how it must feel to have to abandon the school you just got going good. Even if I think the school was somewhat thematically questionable it was still Twily reaching the height of what would be her personal goals. I'll probably have ore to say on this after the final.

Remember Trixie's teliportation/summoning feat. I have something to say later on that too.


Anon 10/05/2019 (Sat) 21:20:34 [Preview] No.4718 del
Daring Doubt.

This one I doubted a bit. Something felt a little off but I couldn't put my hoof on why. The whole Daring Do as a real person always confused me and me trying to apply logic to imagining how that worked in universe. Once again we see the dynamic of ponies rapidly turning against somepony with little hesitation. It is something that annoys me a little bit but as I've said before I'm not sure how much I can really go after it since that dynamic has been the show since season 1. Still, one would think that, even if their would be some that are angry, there would be just as many who would freak out that the hero that they idolize is actually real (if they even believe the book in the first place.) I also wasn't really sure at first what they where doing by lightly deconstructing Daring Do/Indiana Jones the genre while at the same time not messing with the whole meta concept of their existence within their own world. My views have softened some because looking after thinking about it they did in a way mess with that was possibly pretty cleaver. Daring Do is a character who writes her own stories, the normal hero who you only get their POV. Than the villain comes along and writes his own and throws things out of whack with his POV, which one wouldn't normally see (or at least that's what everyone says who makes stuff like this now) Overall I liked the whole dynamic with Fluttershy and Dr. Caballeron team. It almost feels like their is an essence of something cleaver with the moral and the dynamic of storybooks but I don't feel it was brought to what it could be in either symbolism with that meta dynamic and/or the moral's usefulness. Stopping, listening to each other isn't bad, but I feel like their could've made it more related to the books directly or used a slightly different moral as that one could be more useful in other contexts.

Overall, I could see some hating this one. From either everypony being redeemed and therefore making Daring Do not a hero fighting bad ponies to just everypony having a misunderstanding and perhaps all being a little in the wrong to varying degrees to not feeling fully fleshed out as it could be. Though for me. I don't think I hate it. The episode's main purpose was less so any sort of meta commentary as it was just to bring back the whole Daring Do storyline one more time and and give it a bit of a wrap up. The adventure was still fun and this was certainly a better to have Dash in one more staring roll besides being an cheer leading couch. I think this could be more realized and I still have a slight offness with it but it still gave us one last visit and a cute happy ending. I don't know what the future holds for the final but for if they do go a bittersweet or somehow sad which would be insane route than I think I'll like a happy ending here even more so.
7.3/10


Anon 10/05/2019 (Sat) 22:01:08 [Preview] No.4719 del
(303.46 KB 3176x1756 1984047.jpeg)
Next pair of reviews coming a little later. Yes I am fully caught up and will be getting to the rest of /endpone/ pretty soon as well.


Anon 10/05/2019 (Sat) 23:19:58 [Preview] No.4720 del
>>4719
>Next pair of reviews coming a little later.
not only you have caught it up but I haven´t given episode 23 a watch yet. Yeah, you are more advanced than me tonight even though I am going to follow your rhythm tomorrow.

>will be getting to the rest of /endpone/ pretty soon as well.
so it seems that time has let you to get some peace and....

well, not only these review but your activity shown in /flutter/. It seems that I am going to have a long day replying properly to these posts.

PoLS but that doesn´t mean that I am not reading your most recent ones.

Still, one should show a little smile for these little moments/gestures,shouldn´t I?


Anon 10/06/2019 (Sun) 21:00:03 [Preview] No.4722 del
>>4720
>not only you have caught it up but I haven´t given episode 23 a watch yet. Yeah, you are more advanced than me tonight even though I am going to follow your rhythm tomorrow.
We both shall be ready then. I will be probably posting my reviews and replies to a couple of other things in the next couple of days.

>so it seems that time has let you to get some peace and....
As I said. You don't know the half of it but you will see soon enough...

>Still, one should show a little smile for these little moments/gestures,shouldn´t I?
Hey, its not like its necessary but it is a nice gesture sometimes, not to mention part of our board's tiny culture.


Anon 10/07/2019 (Mon) 20:50:47 [Preview] No.4728 del
so, having watched A Horse Shoe In, I think I should add a few comments or observations towards this episode but while it doesn´t reach the top quality like On The Road To Friendship, it truly shows that these two characters do really have great antics for any single episode in which they appear together.

Has there ever been a bad episode with these two as protagonists? Definitely not and this episode is no exception to that norm.

>>4717
>this episode was in the good to excellent tier for me.
indeed, not top 5 material but still it´s a real solid effort that one can a few genuine laughs from it. It doesn´t really need many words to justify the charm that these two show together.

>was a good way to facilitate her temptation for cronyism was perfect and that it was established in a previous episode more so.
the episode that you are talking about might All Bottled Up. It didn´t require a test but still Dolores was mad of Trixie´s irresponsibility about the map of harmony.

>though the candidates certainly confused me
well, it certainly proved that Spoiled Rich holds that name for very good reasons and why one wouldn´t like to have her as a mother. For those who want to got until the last cent, go for her advice but for other things, you´d better avoid her.

>I still liked the whole selection process and the attics with it (Big Mac talking to the parents especially gave me a laugh).
well, those characters were put in order to show those moments. Notonly I liked that moment but how sympathetic were both Dolores and Big Mac after that mess happened, how they agreed that he didn´t fit for that position.

I have found myself laughing more at how Trixie was proud of her idiosyncrasy and her ego for the history class (like not needing those lessons to reach her position, wow that was a complete rebel move for avoiding knowledge and culture) and how she argued with Grandpa Gruff....and he deserved it (I am not going to deny that)

>I suppose for the former it could be something like wanting to work where his sister works and perhaps not realizing how big of a job it could be.
maybe she doesn´t spend as much time as one could imply but either way, that´s a nice justification of his appearance as a candidate. (he can talk though, just that he does it for more personal/intimate matters)

>I wondered why they didn't have Sun Burst there as a candidate but I can understand why they saved him for the end and he would probably be the best fit.
he was the obvious pick and I wondered why he wasn´t called for such tests but he fit for the resolution instead....and that was a smart writing move honestly. It shows that Dolores didn´t go for the favoritism route at first glance.

>8.5/10
nice

>seems pretty random though her almost wining it before realizing how it would affect her music career was pretty interesting and and is a feather in her cap as a feat.
well,I didn´t expect her comeback and delivering a defined context for her retirement but I suppose that the writing staff put her again as a recurrent character just like Derpy with the post office (she hasn´t had any spoken lines since Slice of Life, I think)

>I wonder how it must feel to have to abandon the school you just got going good. Even if I think the school was somewhat thematically questionable it was still Twily reaching the height of what would be her personal goals.
it´s somewhat weird but when you reach a higher responsibility, you simply trust on others to follow you path, not to mention that she has written the manual for every single thing for running this school (just in case Dolores/Sunburst need it for a specific problem)

>Remember Trixie's teliportation/summoning feat.
about that, this is the pony that didn´t know how to use the spells properly and now, she is using it at pretty considerable level. From using the teleport spell for teacups to little ecosystems, that looks like a big stretch.


Anon 10/07/2019 (Mon) 22:53:16 [Preview] No.4729 del
And now, I am facing one of the most controversial episodes that has been leaked whose title even shows the word doubt in it.

The last Daring Do related episode for her arc and the whole generation: Daring Doubt.

>>4718
>This one I doubted a bit.
I do not.
>I couldn't put my hoof on why.
let´s see what it is
>The whole Daring Do as a real person always confused me and me trying to apply logic to imagining how that worked in universe.
they have never explained it but it seems that her existence mostly consists in that. Maybe that´s not her flaw but part of the reason why she is so useful to introduce new plot devices (hence G.M Berrow was so interested in writing about her).

Let me put things clear: do you think that Daring Do would have been as interesting if her stories were only about her, acting as a fictional character that has no impact in the actual Equestria? I know some fans have hated the meta direction and this episode, but, what reaction would we have got instead if she was kept in the fictional territory? I am imagining /mlp/ would call her episodes "filler" and adding nothing onto the table unless someone from the real Equestria felt inspired from the books and made real life actions because of them. What did she have to offer? A parody of Indiana Jones in Read it and Weep and emulate RD´s look and style?

Not only the real life impact has been applied but also the mane 6 having an actual impact onto her stories, distorting the direction that could have been established between the "in universe" characters from that book franchise...but here´s the catch,this goes on both directions and this opens more possibilities than one could ever imagine.

What does Daring Do offer in my eyes? Sure Indiana Jones is the easiest characteristic to get from her but I see her as a disguised clever plot device that serves to criticize the clichés and play to no end with meta stories. Maybe she by herself cannot offer that much with her adventurous trope:

Daring Don´t must have the episode which must have confused more than any other episode, turning her universe into something real. After that move, even the ponies realize that this changes everything in this episode (the writers are aware).
Stranger Than Fanfiction served to parody the fan conventions (by the way, the body pillow image was actually taken from this adventure in advance) and especially, it focused on Quibble Pants´criticism about her works as a metaphor to what happens between the fandom and the staff.
Daring Done is actually the least meta material to come from her universe but she serves as a means to an end for introducing Somnambula and follow the Pillars´arc.

And finally, Daring Doubt....


Anon 10/07/2019 (Mon) 23:20:59 [Preview] No.4730 del
>>4729
This episode not only reinforces the impact from the mane 6 into the universe but also, change completely the direction that the Daring Do universe had to go, justifying that this setup was established because of lies between the three antagonists and we had only seen one of their perspectives form the most part. Nobody explained why they existed and why a creature like Ahuizotl was never considered a villain for Equestria when Daring Do turned out to be real nor why Caballeron couldn´t be seen as a criminal. As soon as Daring Don´t happened, fans would put these questions into mind.

The plotholes would have come if they didn´t show up and justify their existence. This is where Daring Doubt comes into play and closes the circle with A.K Yearling retiring from her adventurous side that we have known.

The meta effect went really far in this one and not only Rainbow Dash is involved but also Fluttershy is the actual game changer because of her kindness, she messes up the established rules and so, we get different results withing Daring Do´s universe (its place in Equestria). The truth amulet should have been the "prize" of value for the three antagonists in an average Indiana Jones yet it´s worked as a medium to make the characters think about their decisions.

The most notable one is Caballeron himself by following a formula of: "I am pretending so much that I have to act like it....becoming the character I have pretended in front of Fluttershy". It blows my mind and I have even laughed at how Fluttershy was so confident when she said that the aggressive animals had a huge misconception in their image. Folks, this is a pony that feared (quite a lot) dragons in the first two seasons yet she has shone in this episode with the purest form of said elements of kindness. If you´ve got an actual adventurer with all the letters, it´s this one because she has revolutionized everything without going out of character at all.

Ahuizotl is just simply the cherry on top of the cake. Why didn´t he cause destruction nor have plans to take over Equestria and be considered as a villain, only showing up in the Daring Do stories? There you have the answer. His context was as well explained as why Daring Do was real in Daring Don´t....so it means, little to nothing except being the necessary evil for the adventurer. This episode made clear that he was only looking after the amulet and didn´t get to damage the thieves. What was truly unexpected is that he had lived for so many years that he ended the episode as an historian because of his age (like Rockhoof in the last season) and entertaining new the generations that didn´t know about his past. That´s a huge twist.


Anon 10/07/2019 (Mon) 23:40:19 [Preview] No.4731 del
>>4718
>one would think that, even if their would be some that are angry, there would be just as many who would freak out that the hero that they idolize is actually real
yeah, especially the younger ones who cannot control their emotions even though there are some adults who can go even further with that fanatism. It´s like everything that happens in this life honestly

>My views have softened some because looking after thinking about it they did in a way mess with that was possibly pretty cleaver
this is why I see her as a really useful plot device for the writers to introduce other things. It bends between fiction and reality that there are even more factors or variables that can go to wildly different directions depending on where the authors want to go.

>Than the villain comes along and writes his own and throws things out of whack with his POV, which one wouldn't normally see (or at least that's what everyone says who makes stuff like this now)
well....that´s not all new nor has come out of nowhere. Didn´t Daring Done mark an argument between Daring Do´s infamy because of Caballeron´s point of view shown to the citizens that lived in the desert?

>I don't feel it was brought to what it could be in either symbolism with that meta dynamic and/or the moral's usefulness. Stopping, listening to each other isn't bad, but I feel like their could've made it more related to the books directly or used a slightly different moral as that one could be more useful in other contexts.
I have the interpretation that the books stopped mattering as soon as other influences came into their plot. The book´s basics have to work but it serves as the base for their logic to exist. However, the guilty of this radical change is Fluttershy because she doesn´t only change Caballeron´s attitude or his team, she changes the trajectory of A.K Yearling and has made Ahuizotl to have an interest into writing his memories. If these three characters went into usual stuff, then everything would go by the book but when someone else distorts even the flutter of a butterfly, the results might not end as you would expect. Rainbow Dash does this to an extent but the actual narrator who tells the story she wants, it´s Fluttershy.

>I could see some hating this one. From either everypony being redeemed and therefore making Daring Do not a hero fighting bad ponies to just everypony having a misunderstanding and perhaps all being a little in the wrong to varying degrees to not feeling fully fleshed out as it could be.
eeeyup. It might look confusing (even more with such a huge explosion of leaks at the end of this gen, with two characters redeemed) but I do believe that those who didn´t like the process of turning her into someone real, might not have had much patience for this episode either.

>The episode's main purpose was less so any sort of meta commentary as it was just to bring back the whole Daring Do storyline one more time and and give it a bit of a wrap up.
eeeyup

>it still gave us one last visit and a cute happy ending. I don't know what the future holds for the final but for if they do go a bittersweet or somehow sad which would be insane route than I think I'll like a happy ending here even more so.
yeah but I think that the finale is in another league in comparison to the low key slice of life episodes that end with The Big Mac Question. What can we expect from the last three episodes of this gen? Certainly not boring content.


Anon 10/07/2019 (Mon) 23:53:41 [Preview] No.4732 del
>>4722
>We both shall be ready then. I will be probably posting my reviews and replies to a couple of other things in the next couple of days.
my body is ready. If you want to go ahead with Growing Up is a Hard Thing To Do and The Big Mac Question, you are allowed to do it because I have already watched until episode 23.

Now hear me out, don´t go further because the slice of life content end with these two episodes. The "low-key" stuff and laid back spirit puts its ending mark right here and we will be no longer discussing about them without taking into account what everyone has been waiting for: the resolution of this series.

If the controversies weren´t enough until now, here it comes the hardest part to review (hold me).

At least, I can sleep these days calmly because they have ended with a really high note in the slice of life content.

>You don't know the half of it but you will see soon enough...
hold it until you see a proper time to expose it, not to mention that life goes on and it might not be over for you

>its not like its necessary but it is a nice gesture sometimes, not to mention part of our board's tiny culture.
tiny if someone actually cared. You have no idea how sensible and volatile that "culture" considering that it was never supposed to reach the masses nor would work in the same way with them. I am saying this because there are private things that wouldn´t have been an influence for future material that would lead to relevant pony content for this board.

At least, if any fuckup is bound to happen or anything gets deleted/overlooked forever, let´s finish this season 9 thread properly and secure what could be told of this show from our perspectives.

Whatever happens next is an unwritten path....


Anon 10/08/2019 (Tue) 07:38:44 [Preview] No.4733 del
>>4732
>Now hear me out, don´t go further because the slice of life content end with these two episodes. The "low-key" stuff and laid back spirit puts its ending mark right here and we will be no longer discussing about them without taking into account what everyone has been waiting for: the resolution of this series.
>hold it until you see a proper time to expose it, not to mention that life goes on and it might not be over for you
I was gearing up to drop the one and half projects that I had ready before the end. They didn't have much to do with the end but my plan was to just do one more thing before the show formally kicked off even if I wouldn't even talk about it till after we absorbed the final. Do you want me to hold off? Regardless I'm going to be dropping my reviews on Growing Up is Hard to do late tomorrow and the Big Mac Question whenever you replied to that to prolong discussion (not withstanding repling to some of your points here).

>At least, I can sleep these days calmly because they have ended with a really high note in the slice of life content.
Indeed.

>If the controversies weren´t enough until now, here it comes the hardest part to review (hold me).
Believe me. Whatever the final I it'll probably be the longest review I've ever written.

>Whatever happens next is an unwritten path....
It's post FiM. The moment of truth...


Anon 10/08/2019 (Tue) 19:52:57 [Preview] No.4738 del
>>4733
>I was gearing up to drop the one and half projects that I had ready before the end. They didn't have much to do with the end but my plan was to just do one more thing before the show formally kicked off even if I wouldn't even talk about it till after we absorbed the final.
hey, go ahead if you want because I have no problems at all except for the fact that I might not give it a proper attention or replies to comment about it with justice at the time because of having a preference towards the canon content first.

>Do you want me to hold off?
I didn´t mean to apply that statement towards /endpone/ but more about the mindset that we´ll have to deal with for the next reviews, diving into a pretty different (and wild) territory.

My lines were intended to express a sense of facing a point of no return so that whatever slice of life discussion might be left for these "low-key" episodes and stay forgotten or become more irrelevant in comparison to these three last episodes (loaded of content and/or questions). I wasn´t aiming at the rest of the threads but more like keeping an eye on going forward because the red line appears in the 24th episode unlike previous seasons.

>Regardless I'm going to be dropping my reviews on Growing Up is Hard to do late tomorrow and the Big Mac Question whenever you replied to that to prolong discussion (not withstanding repling to some of your points here)
alright,perfect because I have had enough time to reply your previous reviews

>Whatever the final I it'll probably be the longest review I've ever written.
one of the reasons I have written this post is because there will be another treatment for the last material of this gen, making things even more special (and complicated) than usual.

>It's post FiM. The moment of truth...
and it´s a new one for the fanbase in general. No one knows what´s going to happen next except for future IDW releases in this post gen 4 period.


Anon 10/08/2019 (Tue) 20:07:33 [Preview] No.4739 del
>>4738
>Ending soon.
This feels so weird. Is it weird to not be a fan and hate the fandom mostly but still feel sad that it's leaving?

Have an honorary pone then.


Anon 10/08/2019 (Tue) 20:23:32 [Preview] No.4740 del
>>4739
>This feels so weird.
I have seen weirder things though, in this board without going that far I have witnessed quite strange events.

But yeah, this situation was certainly unexpected from your part and it´s not the first time that I comment this to you.

>Is it weird to not be a fan and hate the fandom mostly but still feel sad that it's leaving?
that term is called "fan of the fandom" which means that you are not following this because you consume show content directly but more because of the community. You are a rare case though because most those fans appeared in the early era and because everyone saw this show as the latest trend and they jumped onto the bandwagon for 4/5 years.

Still, it´s curious that you are witnessing the ending instead of the beginning where ponies were posted everywhere on the internet.
I am far from a psychologist but I imply that you feel that slight sadness because an "annoying" thing like ponies has engaged you more than expected because of two active users from an imageboard of this kind. As you have been lurking this board among your favorite picks to visit, you have spent more time than usual and some kind of attachment has been subtly built up among the shitposts.

To a lesser extent, you could feel that way because we are reviewing these last episodes and trust me, they are going to be hard to review. Not only because of the show is ending but also because there is some controversy that one has to be pciky towards it.

Not a really funny event to deal with but it was bound to happen either way.


Anon 10/08/2019 (Tue) 20:36:58 [Preview] No.4741 del
>>4740
>Still, it´s curious that you are witnessing the ending instead of the beginning where ponies were posted everywhere on the internet.
I actually still see pony cameos pretty often in non brony spaces.

>that term is called "fan of the fandom" which means that you are not following this because you consume show content directly but more because of the community.
Woah dude I'm not willing to go that far dude hold on dude stop it dude slow down dude... maybe a little

>I am far from a psychologist but I imply that you feel that slight sadness because an "annoying" thing like ponies has engaged you more than expected because of two active users from an imageboard of this kind.
yeah, you're somebody who needs one! BURN XD

2BH I think it's that because, even if your fandom were mostly degenerate manbabies and other oddballs it's always been a presence in my life somehow someway for awhile. You aren't the first I've shitposted with though it is far less hostile than others.


Anon 10/08/2019 (Tue) 21:08:42 [Preview] No.4742 del
>>4741
>I actually still see pony cameos pretty often in non brony spaces.
I am not going to deny that.In fact, we had reported that Bernie Sanders talked about ponies on TV and the fact that Magic The Gathering has released official (not photoshopped nor emulated fan content) cards in the newest deck (only 4 of them but still). So yeah, they have become more like a pop culture thing and I have seen several pony avatars out there.

What I meant with that phrase is that ponies are not the hottest thing anymore (after season 5 one would notice this), hence you don´t see cringy videos nor much drama about them after 2014/15. It has cooled down a lot and if someone has them out there, it´s because they are either fans or simply they like the designs of the popular characters.

>Woah dude I'm not willing to go that far dude hold on dude stop it dude slow down dude
I am slowing down but you don´t seem to do so with these expressions...

>maybe a little
I see

>you're somebody who needs one!
I didn´t expect that...

BUT nobody expectsThe Spanish Inquisition

>2BH I think it's that because, even if your fandom were mostly degenerate manbabies and other oddballs it's always been a presence in my life somehow someway for awhile
cringy content has always existed and I am not going to deny that those events have happened. However, I haven´t dealt with that part of the fandom all that muc. I am not projecting, it´s simply that I joined late to the party (relatively, around summer 2014 I happened to challenge myself to watch the show before the ending of that summer because of personal boredom) and I haven´t seen those stereotypes of loud fans (keep in mind that I mostly have seen the /mlp/4chan side of it) and I would tell that they are more depressed than one might expect at first sight.

>You aren't the first I've shitposted with though it is far less hostile than others.
I have been lurking the chans for 5 years and while I don´t see myself like an oldfag at all, I´ve got to know how this stuff works after the first two years of experience. If you don´t have patience with these sites, you´d better avoid them like plague.

By the way, I don´t want to throw flowers at myself all the time but before knowing who you are dealing with, you might want to know that despite the MLP content, the chan spirit is still there.

You have lurked on /b/ for a long time,right? This little story might catch your attention: >>3114, >>3115. If a GET of that kind no longer impresses me,the practice of shitposting/trolling in a board does that to a much lesser extent.

>>4739
>Have an honorary pone then.
thanks for the gesture


Anon 10/09/2019 (Wed) 06:12:46 [Preview] No.4747 del
Growing Up is Hard to Do.

This is another good episode. I enjoyed seeing the CMC as adults and thought they were designed pretty well. Not over deigned or bland and generic. The plot was fine enough. The CMC saw adulthood as not something vested with responsibility but as something that granted them agency to do want they wanted, with a secondary lesson in maturity not always aligning with age in the case of Spur in her reluctance to taking Boofy to Appleloosa County Fair and with a little help taking control of the situation. Which is typical plot but it's the treat of seeing the CMC as adults and strength of the characters is all it whats puts this into good territory. I only have a slight critique with how the CMC acted, as they almost seemed too immature for their character development and this point but we have seen them bicker over the last couple of seasons in a still pretty childish manner so it's more of me slightly questioning it over saying their character's were disfigured beyond belief. Being Big is All it Takes was probably one of the stronger songs the CMC have had in the later seasons (but it still pales in comparison to Babs Seed!).

8.4/10

Other notes:
I have some minor questions on the CMC ages after this episode, as I would think they had them sort of in tween territory with plots of their independence and changing interests from childish things. Yet here we see too lanky ponies behave in such a way that's still too young for all but an 13 year old yet say the CMC are younger then them (CMC = 9 10ish Spur and Biscuit = 11 13ish?) Not a big deal but it is something that has some small implications with this and the way the CMC acted being slightly more like younger kids than where I thought they had they implied the CMC had aged too.

Twilight Sparkle doing a magical study for a friend? What it this season 2?

Wishing flower is a small but cool element. Even if it never appears again it could still be fun to mess with in fiction. (Reminds me of the wishing plant from the obscure star wars ewokes cartoon, though obviously that probably had no influence on it),

Sweetie Belle was extremely rude to herself!


Anon 10/09/2019 (Wed) 06:17:14 [Preview] No.4748 del
Okay. Now for the one big background observation: SINCE WHEN CAN SWEETIE BELLE TELEPORT!

This is significant to me because for one of the few things that has been relatively consistent in the series on magic was the implication that teleportation was a vary high level feat. I do not think it was till season 5(?) that we had not seen anypony else teleport besides Twilight Sparkle, Celestia and Sunset Shimmer. From that point I'm trying to recall of any instances of a pony who was not at least somewhat magically gifted and though season 5 through 7 are a bit more of a blur to me I do not think we've seen anypony violate this rule. From an in universe perspective what does this mean? Does it mean Sweetie is magically gifted? Has she been shown to have done anything beyond a some latter season moderately advanced feats Rarity did before (though perhaps Rarity maybe more of above average and not a benchmark for what an average unicorn could do with skill). There is a possible cannon path with the whole somewhat vague "magical power is based is on what you feel" but still sense visiting that there has been both implications of feats based on skill and someone who is naturally powerful/gifted in the show. Maybe their is some instance I'm missing but from what I can recall this is still pretty surprising given what all we know and have seen.

The out of universe reason: I just think the show staff wanted to have Sweetie Belle teleport.


Anon 10/09/2019 (Wed) 06:21:03 [Preview] No.4749 del
>>4739
For the nice guesture I will return it with this.


Anon 10/09/2019 (Wed) 06:47:05 [Preview] No.4753 del
>>4738
>hey, go ahead if you want because I have no problems at all except for the fact that I might not give it a proper attention or replies to comment about it with justice at the time because of having a preference towards the canon content first.
I may post a bit of ground work new general but I think I'll wait to actually posting the meat of it after. It'd be better to post on the show and I think it maybe good to post a fic after we have gotten over the initial shock as therapy as oppose to rushing before and it being a burden to reply to after 100+ posts of freaking out over the end (be it positive or negative.)

Goodnight /endpone/. Have much more to say but ran outta steam. I will get to it tommorow (maybe giving you some space to reply to everything first)


Anon 10/09/2019 (Wed) 18:33:07 [Preview] No.4758 del
>>4753
<idea
<pic
<related


Anon 10/09/2019 (Wed) 22:32:26 [Preview] No.4764 del
>>4753
>I may post a bit of ground work new general but I think I'll wait to actually posting the meat of it after.
alright, whatever you see convenient for delivering your content.

>It'd be better to post on the show and I think it maybe good to post a fic after we have gotten over the initial shock as therapy as oppose to rushing before and it being a burden to reply to after 100+ posts of freaking out over the end (be it positive or negative.)
yeah, that sounds fairly reasonable but still, it´s up to what you feel like doing on this place in the end.

>Have much more to say but ran outta steam. I will get to it tommorow (maybe giving you some space to reply to everything first)
I have replied to the other thread tonight and I think that I am delivering my reviews after you have written the one for ep 23 (I have a very different perspective yet a more positive one for Growing Up is A Hard Thing To do that I have yet to think about before typing it here).

So yeah, there is time for this and we have arrived before the finale airs officially in the US. So, we are not definitely arriving late at all in comparison to the rest of the fanbase despite having Endchan shutdown in August.

>>4758
the animation errors always deliver really funny thoughts....I would feel weird towards that pic as well


Anon 10/10/2019 (Thu) 02:16:18 [Preview] No.4767 del
Alright, the Big Mac Question.

This was a great episode with a haunting end I almost can't stand. Loved the "reality show" interview format and the jumping around of perspectives. Big Macintosh and Sugar Belle both planing overly elaborate proposals at once I will admit was kind of a cute way to get the cast of characters they had all involved. It felt like that nearly everyone got at least one moment without it feeling overcrowded at all (compare to 2,4,6 Greaaat, which could've been a bit better ep if they had given the development starved Student 6 a bit more time). I loved the various perspectives and antics, with my favorite being Discord and his Apples. Why these brought me so much joy I do not know but I loved them running around chasing chaos and even their little cameo at the end. Though that ending though was beautiful, but the tone of it gave me a melancholy feeling that I almost couldn't stand. Which is probably what it was supposed to do. The whole wedding and the symbolism of lose ends being tied and things coming to an end and also a certain perspective on life that I'm not sure I want to go into and gives me a certain feel on the real end of the show, but I won't go into it till we see it if it's true then it could count as a spoiler Still cool that they actually squeezed the wedding in there.

None the less it was a good episode: 8.9/10

So, we say goodbye to the last completely normal episode of the show. In a way, do to the fact it was the last episode it may not count as thee last normal episode do to the fact that it is the last and had a bit of an air of finality to it. Oh man, you won't believe how emotional I feel right now, and this isn't even the real final!
Then again, in maybe in part eternal factors that I won't mention at the moment.

Other observations:
Yeah, I'm just going to focus on this one thing. Different creatures in nature to the ones in issue 32 33 of the comics there is certainly similarities between the two, to the point where it would surprise if they hadn't taken any influence from the this comic arch. Speaking of comics and the show...

Granny Smith's dreaming Star Trek related adventures also was another thing that I loved. Makes me want to write something based on it.

Ms Cake played a background roll but had a lot more lines than we've seen in awhile. When is the last time her husband has any lines?


Anon 10/10/2019 (Thu) 02:43:37 [Preview] No.4768 del
What is this bussiness with MLP comics being season 10?
https://www.equestriadaily.com/2019/10/nycc-interview-bobby-curnow-on-my.html

Now, I say, on the one hoof it is nice to get some stuff after season 9. Though this does make me question. Can I take this as cannon? Can I regard post season 9 questions awnsered here actually awnsered? I don't know. I know they have said the comic is canon unless it contradicts the show and somethings from the comic have found their way into the show, but generally the plotlines haven't touched even ones that don't contradict the show still have call backs to ones who don't or would be hard to reconcile. Specifically, this from the interview catches me attention.
>Q: So I actually have another question for you. Is the series you're going to want to take place within the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, comic book series straight from IDW, or is it going to be its own separate comic book series.

"BC: We're going to keep the same numbering. I, personally, really want to get to that hundred number. We're close to it, so why not do it. We want to make it clear to retailers that, who've supported the series, that you keep coming to the same place. It's not a jumping off flip point , but we are going to be clearly branding it on the covers and in publicity and media that this is season 10, that this is the place to go to get the continuing stories of Twilight and all of our other favorite ponies."
It's looks to be more of a branding maneuver. So... I wonder how this is all going to work. Will this still make comic canon call backs to stuff that doesn't fit? Even then some things could get weird with stuff like the parallel universes and some implications from the issues I have seen. Though perhaps I am not at a state where I can render a judgment since I haven't followed them religiously.


Anon 10/10/2019 (Thu) 02:58:08 [Preview] No.4769 del
(43.62 KB 500x397 old_meme.jpeg)
>>4764
>yeah, that sounds fairly reasonable but still, it´s up to what you feel like doing on this place in the end.
Had something happen so yeah, it actually is easier on me.

>So yeah, there is time for this and we have arrived before the finale airs officially in the US. So, we are not definitely arriving late at all in comparison to the rest of the fanbase despite having Endchan shutdown in August.
We are doing pretty good knock on wood! I feel like regardless what happens, we where here for the full end of FiM!

>the animation errors always deliver really funny thoughts....I would feel weird towards that pic as well
I wonder if that counts as an error or something that is proper under the principles of squash and stretch, it's a mid movement awkward frame still. I just happened to pause it there and found it funny.

>>4758
What idea?

>>4741
>2BH I think it's that because, even if your fandom were mostly degenerate manbabies and other oddballs it's always been a presence in my life somehow someway for awhile. You aren't the first I've shitposted with though it is far less hostile than others.
I get this with other things, though

> maybe a little
pic related


Anon 10/10/2019 (Thu) 22:45:21 [Preview] No.4773 del
(755.48 KB 1376x773 2135070.png)
I have just watched these two episodes again and it seems that I am not going to have a big trouble reviewing these ones because they are both amazing and deliver a good time. We were worried about the quality dropping before this season and ending in a bad note but it has become visible that the show is going to leave us behind with standout fireworks in the slice of life department at least.
Growing Up is Hard To Do
>>4747
>This is another good episode.
I would say exemplary for its premise.

>I enjoyed seeing the CMC as adults and thought they were designed pretty well. Not over deigned or bland and generic.
as far as I am concerned, I do notice that the adult designs do a real favor to Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom (especially the former) while Scootaloo, while fine to my eyes, doesn´t stand out that much to me. Still, I agree that their designs felt pretty natural from the very beginning, so no problems here.

>The CMC saw adulthood as not something vested with responsibility but as something that granted them agency to do want they wanted, with a secondary lesson in maturity not always aligning with age in the case of Spur in her reluctance to taking Boofy to Appleloosa County Fair and with a little help taking control of the situation
>but it's the treat of seeing the CMC as adults and strength of the characters is all it whats puts this into good territory.
I want to add a little bit more of depth. I have watched in the past, several cartoons that developed an exaggerated story for the characters involved, getting the plot into really outlandish situations.I appreciate this episode a little bit more because everything here has felt pretty organic, the problems the CMC have had to face are no exception from anyone else

They have exposed with Being Big Is All It Takes the advantages of reaching that age yet I have had that fear of the show going to an extreme route of disgrace for them. However, the problems they have faced were realistic. All the advice that the big sisters (AJ, Rarity and RD) were shown in some way later down the plot (while building up the plot device) and the two major problems were: getting lost and not being responsible enough of your own actions. That´s it, the plot didn´t go that far in the change and it simply showed what the growth implies. Sure Luffy causing chaos to Appleloosa was a chaotic one but it was easy to solve and it could have been prevented with a proper advice and I love that gesture of not getting too out of hand (unlike the old Spike abuse episodes) just because the CMC were illusioned about going to the fair. Also, another little detail was how little surprise Fluttershy and Twilight showed in their reactions towards this peculiar situation (they have seen a lot of things since TS came into Ponyville so this proves how experienced they are)

I admire how this episode fixes those mistakes from the past and how everything flows correctly,nor too dramatic nor showing adulthood like a pinkish thing,just simply facing a plausible problem that could have happened to anyone else. This lack of forced extreme situations leaves more space for the message to shine
>they almost seemed too immature for their character development and this point but we have seen them bicker over the last couple of seasons in a still pretty childish manner
along with the (a little bit) forced plot device, they have shown their childish dreams during the fair, I agree. However, I do believe that it shows how true Walt Disney was: "Your dead if you aim only for kids. Adults are only kids grown up, anyway." It doesn´t mean that adults cannot have fun (in fact, they were having fun in this modernized town of Appleloosa) but I do believe that it makes sense that the writers strengthen that childish mindset in favor of exposing that lack of responsibility..

>Being Big is All it Takes was probably one of the stronger songs the CMC have had in the later seasons (but it still pales in comparison to Babs Seed!)
it was solid,I cannot argue with that

>8.4/10
I could raise a little bit more the score


Anon 10/10/2019 (Thu) 22:59:40 [Preview] No.4774 del
>>4747
>I have some minor questions on the CMC ages after this episode, as I would think they had them sort of in tween territory with plots of their independence and changing interests from childish things. Yet here we see too lanky ponies behave in such a way that's still too young for all but an 13 year old yet say the CMC are younger then them (CMC = 9 10ish Spur and Biscuit = 11 13ish?) Not a big deal but it is something that has some small implications with this and the way the CMC acted being slightly more like younger kids than where I thought they had they implied the CMC had aged too.
they have aged though just that the episode (it looks like I am the advocate for the writers) has focused more on the fact that they haven´t assumed their circumstances. They have grown up and they didn´t take badly intended decisions for the problem created and they have tried to fixed it for themselves as well (other characters could have committed that mistake as well).

Spur served as a reference of taking more care about the decisions and serve as a role model for the CMC to follow. Sure, they were teenagers and the age isn´t all that big but Spur had more knowledge about Luffy´s nature than the CMC had. These are little details to point out but I do believe that the CMC have shown signs of maturity in the ending by acknowledging their young age or their little circles before taking a decision. Despite their mistakes, they haven´t acted stupidly nor have left the logic aside, I am simply interpreting that the writers have wanted the price of going so far with their dreams at the expense of getting past of other relevant factors.

>Twilight Sparkle doing a magical study for a friend? What it this season 2?
considering her nerdy nature, I wouldn´t be surprised at all.

>Wishing flower is a small but cool element. Even if it never appears again it could still be fun to mess with in fiction. (Reminds me of the wishing plant from the obscure star wars ewokes cartoon, though obviously that probably had no influence on it)
like the truth amulet in Daring Doubt,these are really juicy objects that can lead to interesting plot devices

>Sweetie Belle was extremely rude to herself
eeeyup, the self criticism came the hardest from her own character (ironically enough, she was the one whose VA changed the voice the most because the change in age)


Anon 10/10/2019 (Thu) 23:10:20 [Preview] No.4775 del
>>4748
>SINCE WHEN CAN SWEETIE BELLE TELEPORT!
well, there you have it.It´s finally here.

>one of the few things that has been relatively consistent in the series on magic was the implication that teleportation was a vary high level feat. I do not think it was till season 5(?) that we had not seen anypony else teleport besides Twilight Sparkle, Celestia and Sunset Shimmer.
wow, you have really taken notes in this regard. I do see it as something really inconsistent to judge and except for highly advanced spells of power or something really visible in terms of energy, I cannot wrap up my mind at all for this topic. Honestly, I haven´t spent my thoughts on this and much less having the ability to justify my opinions towards it to other anons.

>From an in universe perspective what does this mean? Does it mean Sweetie is magically gifted? Has she been shown to have done anything beyond a some latter season moderately advanced feats Rarity did before (though perhaps Rarity maybe more of above average and not a benchmark for what an average unicorn could do with skill).
there are little stories that we don´t know and keep in mind that a few years have passed in that universe. I can say that SB stopped claiming herself as a kid to Rarity in Forever Filly. I am trying to justify a magic topic with a mental development but I suppose it could serve you as a reference if you are all that invested at guessing when she learned this.

>There is a possible cannon path with the whole somewhat vague "magical power is based is on what you feel" but still sense visiting that there has been both implications of feats based on skill and someone who is naturally powerful/gifted in the show. Maybe their is some instance I'm missing but from what I can recall this is still pretty surprising given what all we know and have seen.
yeah well, the emotions do come into play for this and not all the ponies reach the levels that we are used to seeing in this show.

>The out of universe reason: I just think the show staff wanted to have Sweetie Belle teleport.
without going further than inconsistent lore, I believe that having Sweetie Belle as an adult, the fact that she felt like using magic in an emergent situation and the little detail that she touched her own horn after casting that teleportation spell (probably hurting her a bit)... it seems like a plausible moment to bring that spell onto her character.


Anon 10/10/2019 (Thu) 23:57:08 [Preview] No.4776 del
Having replied to the last CMC episode, the last slice of life episode from this generation comes next...and it´s a real banger. I can´t add much more than what´s been said but it´s a wonderfully executed episode. If you are familiar with the Saddle Row Review and Brotherhooves Social, this episode mixes both and the expected wedding finishes the 9 year cycle of this gen.

Time to say goodbye.

The Big Mac Question.

>>4767
>This was a great episode with a haunting end I almost can't stand.Loved the "reality show" interview format and the jumping around of perspectives.
if the CMC episode wasn´t good enough, this one goes further into the comedy (established in a reality show format a la Saddle Row Review) and huge emotional feelings during the end. I can imagine a lot of ans being loss of words towards this one.

>I will admit was kind of a cute way to get the cast of characters they had all involved.It felt like that nearly everyone got at least one moment without it feeling overcrowded at all
absolutely and the best of all is that they all play an integral part for the story, how they create that mess for themselves yet they drove to that spontaneous resolution....all the parts come together and this collage of actions between the active characters, is just really close to a flawless execution. Hands down the staff has taken a lot of care for this episode.

>(compare to 2,4,6 Greaaat, which could've been a bit better ep if they had given the development starved Student 6 a bit more time)
it´s unrelated to this episode but this is an actual flaw that the students do have yet their detractors only point out the easy targets that surround them. Nice observation there, especially for Ocellus. Anyway, back to the episode.

>I loved the various perspectives and antics, with my favorite being Discord and his Apples.Why these brought me so much joy I do not know but I loved them running around chasing chaos and even their little cameo at the end.
Discord has shown a really great dynamic with both Spike and Big Mac since Dungeons and Discords, they have nailed it at finding a place in these slice of life episodes. He has shone way more here than in the Summer Sun Setback because his chaotic decisions, while not badly intended,have contributed a lot for the main problem. His mix of laziness for putting the apples in the proper place, the lack of indifference shown from his part when he acknowledged that he messed it up with the menacing big apple and how in his personal interview tried to excuse himself from these events; in general his antics have worked at causing more problems than intended yet giving more time for the comedy in these 22 minutes. I am not sure if this is his best episode but for sure, he has worked brilliantly here at the right time.


Anon 10/11/2019 (Fri) 00:10:02 [Preview] No.4777 del
>>4767
>Though that ending though was beautiful, but the tone of it gave me a melancholy feeling that I almost couldn't stand. Which is probably what it was supposed to do. The whole wedding and the symbolism of lose ends being tied and things coming to an end and also a certain perspective on life that I'm not sure I want to go into and gives me a certain feel on the real end of the show
>Still cool that they actually squeezed the wedding in there.
the words that one could express from those last minutes are priceless. While it´s not the biggest impact that this show has offered to me (the CMC getting their cutie marks in the 5th anniversary still has the crown), it surely serves as a great reminder of how magical this show is.Moments like these are what you wouldn´t expect from a show of this kind and getting these feelings is what attaches one fan to this show so profoundly in an unexpected way. Hitting right in the feels isn´t an easy task but FiM has celebrated it for one last time (at least), wrapping the last chapters of this gen. Simply wonderful.

>None the less it was a good episode: 8.9/10
to me, I cannot rate it lower than a real highlight for this season.

>So, we say goodbye to the last completely normal episode of the show. In a way, do to the fact it was the last episode it may not count as the last normal episode do to the fact that it is the last and had a bit of an air of finality to it. Oh man, you won't believe how emotional I feel right now, and this isn't even the real final!
for now, it was worth watching this material and commenting about these emotional thoughts is kind of complicated. I would rather respect the personal attachments that one can get from this show. Even if the finale manages to disappoint us, they have managed at least to really touch the hearts from the community for one last time, right at the 9th anniversary since the show´s premiere was released.

>Different creatures in nature to the ones in issue 32 33 of the comics there is certainly similarities between the two, to the point where it would surprise if they hadn't taken any influence from the this comic arch.
oh I didn´t know that.....nice.

>Granny Smith's dreaming Star Trek related adventures also was another thing that I loved. Makes me want to write something based on it.
going through outer space with the characters who have voiced in Star Trek....this cannot be a coincidence. I wonder how she has managed to dream that. Did she take a manipulated drink or something by accident? No way she gets to sense these dreams and then having the ability to tell them so clearly.

>Ms Cake played a background roll but had a lot more lines than we've seen in awhile. When is the last time her husband has any lines?
she has indeed played a big role for the standards of her character. Whenever one could think that the traditional characters are forgotten because of the newer ones, you get Octavia getting spoken lines, Snails and Snips getting a second spotlight because of a sport and Mrs Cake for putting the stamps that Sugar Belle has ordered to her...

I can see why Mrs Cake has got more lines than her husband historically speaking and that´s because of the VA. She is voiced by Tabitha so considering how relevant and diverse she is for this show, having her for another episode that doesn´t require Luna nor Rarity does not look like a problem at all in this regard. It´s a technical justification but it could perfectly come because of writer´s ideas for not using her husband.


Anon 10/11/2019 (Fri) 00:25:17 [Preview] No.4778 del
>>4768
>on the one hoof it is nice to get some stuff after season 9. Though this does make me question. Can I take this as cannon? Can I regard post season 9 questions awnsered here actually awnsered? I don't know.
I stay mostly the same towards them: if they are good enough to be remembered, we will post them here and take them somewhat seriously (like the Nightmare Knights arc that has handy for the latest hiatus). If they are not good, it´s simply more content to fill the inactive periods and discuss or throw drama bait comments at each other (this works better for /mlp/)

>I know they have said the comic is canon unless it contradicts the show and somethings from the comic have found their way into the show, but generally the plotlines haven't touched even ones that don't contradict the show still have call backs to ones who don't or would be hard to reconcile. Specifically, this from the interview catches me attention.
Sombra´s arc was absolutely contradicted and the comics have had really questionable quality before /endpone/´s 2nd life in 2017. The darkest era for the comics came while Fosgitt was in the art design and oh boy, there were so many atrocious pony bodies that one couldn´t even begin (Celestia managed to get a meme out of it because she was the most ridiculous case).

While the comics add an expanded series and a few interesting characters back and forth, I look past about 90% of what they offer. I would recommend being really picky and only spending time on those which are really worth investing your time on them.

>>4769
>it actually is easier on me.
alright then

>feel like regardless what happens, we where here for the full end of FiM!
the show must go on, folks! We are ready for the final boss! Will this end well? Hopefully yes.

>it's a mid movement awkward frame still. I just happened to pause it there and found it funny.
yeah, I assumed where you were coming from with the purpose of that picture.

Anyway, phew. It´s almost over! I cannot believe that I am slightly witnessing the light at the end of the tunnel! No more dramas nor ways to mess up with this generation. The decade is ending, so does this show.

I am finishing my activity for today, meaning that I have mostly replied to what one should reply. As for the last picture, I am posting the married couple before leaving.

Goodnight /endpone/, you´d better get ready for what´s going to come out this weekend.Sleep well tonight folks, sleep well...


Anon 10/11/2019 (Fri) 00:28:39 [Preview] No.4779 del
https://youtube.com/watch?v=-xhJx6UR4Vw [Embed]


Anon 10/11/2019 (Fri) 04:44:12 [Preview] No.4784 del
(164.49 KB 1247x754 OldEpIdea.png)
May not get back here before contact with the /end/ but I hope to post tommorow.

https://www.equestriadaily.com/2019/10/psa-another-friendship-is-magic-leak.html
But a final bullet has been fired.


This could be a lot of drama with whats included...


Anon 10/11/2019 (Fri) 08:32:09 [Preview] No.4785 del
>>4778
I will try. Goodnight /endpone/.

>>4779
Appropriate tone after looking through a fair bit of fandom stuff on nostagia including some stuff I had forgoten Found a fic I ran into a couple times way way back that's still updating almost monthly. Ran into some forgoten projects, etc

https://youtube.com/watch?v=obJ21k3Hylo [Embed]
Here is what I leave on the table. Hopefully I'll get to reply before. Good news is I think I'll be able to watch the stream live.


Anon 10/11/2019 (Fri) 22:47:11 [Preview] No.4787 del
(263.30 KB 746x475 TheLastBlankEpisodes.png)
>>4773
> This lack of forced extreme situations leaves more space for the message to shine
It did flow pretty organically. You are entirely correct here.

>I would say exemplary for its premise.
>I could raise a little bit more the score
Imagined my scale being like:
7 = okay, to good
8 = great upper 8 closer to excellent
9 = phenomenal/amazing.
However I am devided on how much I factor in personal enjoyment versus technical execution. Still trying to figure all that out so my ratings may be subject to change. But in anycase, I think this episode is excellent.

>>4774
>they have aged though just that the episode (it looks like I am the advocate for the writers) has focused more on the fact that they haven´t assumed their circumstances. They have grown up and they didn´t take badly intended decisions for the problem created and they have tried to fixed it for themselves as well (other characters could have committed that mistake as well).
Ain't that major, but it is still a question I have. Arguably you can justify them acting this way and it didn't bug me that much, but I still think the CMC slightly too childish mentality compared to where their characters are and some confusion on the preteen age I thought they had them at. Do I think it's that a major problem? No, just a note I have that I could even be wrong on. In fact perhaps it could be justified with some of the childish bickering. It would require me to go through and look at other CMC episodes and consider their actions, and with whats coming up I think that my thoughts will be towards other characters to put it lightly .

>>4775
Funny enough I've seen some others notice this and wonder if it was a bit more purposeful do to a joke that I hadn't thought about from the first part of the ep when Apple Bloom asked sweetie, "are you sure you're not Twilight's sister?". It's a bit of a stretch but I can't fully disregard it as impossible that perhaps they were hinting a bit at something.

>>4776
>Time to say goodbye.
This line alone is haunting.

>if the CMC episode wasn´t good enough, this one goes further into the comedy (established in a reality show format a la Saddle Row Review) and huge emotional feelings during the end. I can imagine a lot of ans being loss of words towards this one.
Yep, I almost gave it a 9 and perhaps I should. It gave both comedy and feels very well and it maybe one of the most haunting episodes with the end probably being the first unless they screw up real badly

>>4778
>Even if the finale manages to disappoint us, they have managed at least to really touch the hearts from the community for one last time, right at the 9th anniversary since the show´s premiere was released.
Indeed they did. I have so many thoughts I still want to say for this episode like Discord's hippo friend Dolores! but the final is making its way here fast. At least I gave one last normal reply before FiM's end and our prep/processing of it.


Anon 10/11/2019 (Fri) 23:37:49 [Preview] No.4789 del
>>4787
>I am devided on how much I factor in personal enjoyment versus technical execution.
it´s quite complicated to sum up your thought into a number. I do beleive that the comments themselves add much more to what you actually feel than the score itself. Lots of people commit the mistake of mixing personal enjoyment with critical thoughts towards this material and I am one of those sinners that judge with the emotions (sorry for those who are looking for an unbiased view)

You haven´t only exposed this problem for judging the episodes but also for rating the fics posted around here. It´s a difficult topic by itself but at least, acknowledging that there is room to improve for this task, it sounds like a good humble sign from the biased reviewer.

>Still trying to figure all that out so my ratings may be subject to change.
yeah, opinions change over time and those ratings simply reflect what you felt towards that episode at the time you posted that message. It doesn´t mean that we are all looking at them with pure maths but at least, they work as a quick reference.

>you can justify them acting this way and it didn't bug me that much, but I still think the CMC slightly too childish mentality compared to where their characters are and some confusion on the preteen age I thought they had them at.
>It would require me to go through and look at other CMC episodes and consider their actions, and with whats coming up I think that my thoughts will be towards other characters to put it lightly
I have tried to give an explanation yet the fact that we are discussing with this much of a detail....you know, I am seriously considering that reviewing this show has felt more complicated than delivering political thoughts to me. No kidding but some fans are really picky towards small details and there is a point where I cannot comment all that much unless I spend extra time for it. Who said that a slice of life show that doesn´t have any filler could be even harder to judge than a show with ups and downs in filler?

If you manage to counter my argument with that subtle evolution in their maturity, props to you for taking that effort.

>I hadn't thought about from the first part of the ep when Apple Bloom asked sweetie, "are you sure you're not Twilight's sister?". It's a bit of a stretch but I can't fully disregard it as impossible that perhaps they were hinting a bit at something.
wow, I didn´t notice that line either. Trust me that I didn´t have that idea because of that question, just simply trying to explain the circumstance around that action.

>I almost gave it a 9 and perhaps I should. It gave both comedy and feels very well and it maybe one of the most haunting episodes
I said that it felt like a continuation of Brotherhooves Social: comedy and peculiar situations during its development, emotional moments at the ending. These two episodes by having Big Mac as the main focus by the way.

>I have so many thoughts I still want to say for this episode like Discord's hippo friend Dolores!
watch out! The bridges are coming in the middle of the chaos! Brace yourselves!

>but the final is making its way here fast. At least I gave one last normal reply before FiM's end and our prep/processing of it.
like time, it comes and goes really fast. We are ending this decade and boy, 10 years is a huge period. From a meme that went too far to marking the history of the internet permanently, even in the animation industry. The unexpected part was not only the fanbase....but the brave movement of the show changing and growing older along with its fans. Not all of them have stayed in the ride (whether it´s from personal troubles or the dislike towards those changes) but a few fortunate ones have managed to get here and experience the last weekend of gen 4.

Mr Bones, you said that the ride never ended but Equestria has decided to carry you into its own ending.


Anon 10/11/2019 (Fri) 23:50:37 [Preview] No.4790 del
>>4785
>Here is what I leave on the table
you know what´s funny? I think this might be the first pony fan music that I have listened completely (besides Legends of Equestria´s OST)....consider this as an achievement. It´s quite catchy and I like that it´s focused on EDM (a little bit rockish in that middle part, sounding almost like new wave). So yeah, I have managed to give it a few spins while writing this.A pleasant listen overall.

now...

>>4787
>This line alone is haunting.
>>4785
>Appropriate tone after looking through a fair bit of fandom stuff on nostagia including some stuff I had forgoten

I didn´t post this >>4779 by accident because I had it reserved for months (you might have seen this cover art at some point in a thread). I thought about posting it after the finale, when everything is over but I saw a better moment to post it just before the final event.

Not because of the 9th anniversary, but because it´s really fitting how >>4778 the light coming from the pear tree is even more mystical and intimate than what we might get tomorrow. Considering that we are in a down to earth position before taking off with a complete hour of extraordinary events, this felt like the proper moment to get ready and see all the achievements made before the fanbase leaves the highway and the likelihood of never coming back after the ending.

I also find a huge relief that we are done at the reviews because discussing this show is a harder exercise than any outsider could have ever imagined from this colorful animated series.

While a lot of sadness (and controversies/dramas with this >>4784 as well) might come after this Saturday, I appreciate personally that we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and leaving gen 4 in peace....together.


Anon 10/12/2019 (Sat) 00:02:08 [Preview] No.4791 del
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>>4790
It's really haunting right now. It's been an honor and fun to be here. About to go on a small outing so this is probably my last post before tomorrow...


Anon 10/12/2019 (Sat) 00:25:30 [Preview] No.4792 del
>>4791
same to you Bridgefag. Put the stars and the stripes from your flag as well during this weekend.

It's been an honor to be here and post all this content. Have fun tonight and after getting a last breath...


...face the last day of our ride.


Goodnight /endpone/.


Anon 10/12/2019 (Sat) 22:34:27 [Preview] No.4794 del
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>>3893
Preparing for final attack run /endpone/! We have made contact with fate.


Anon 10/12/2019 (Sat) 22:44:08 [Preview] No.4795 del
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Hopefully the final will be great. Even if it's not, I'll still be happy that the show lasted way past all but the most blindly optimistic thought back in the days of 2011 and 12.


Anon 10/12/2019 (Sat) 22:46:31 [Preview] No.4796 del
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I'll try to post during the livestream at least a couple of times. Not sure if I'll get too caught up in the final though.


Anon 10/12/2019 (Sat) 22:50:40 [Preview] No.4797 del
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weirdly I've felt happy of all things throughout all of this. Some feelings of fear and or sadness but I actually feel... optimistic.


Anon 10/12/2019 (Sat) 22:52:36 [Preview] No.4798 del
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>>4797
maybe I've just snapped.


Anon 10/12/2019 (Sat) 23:03:46 [Preview] No.4799 del
I've been going through old stuff from the fandom and feel nostalgic, though there is something else there that I can't identify. Fan labor wiki especially feels like a time capsule it's mostly unupdated, yet there is scattered stuff that is sometimes updated and they have made relations with a newer wiki that was formed in the last couple of years.


Anon 10/12/2019 (Sat) 23:07:13 [Preview] No.4800 del
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alright, breaking the chain of twily with AJ and taking a break. (I'm glad AJ got out of her goth phase).


Anon 10/12/2019 (Sat) 23:10:22 [Preview] No.4801 del
the finale...







...is good







....we are growing older, time is passing and like death, this life ends....


Anon 10/12/2019 (Sat) 23:10:52 [Preview] No.4802 del
(17.22 KB 1280x720 Dawn of a new day.jpg)


Anon 10/13/2019 (Sun) 00:05:56 [Preview] No.4803 del
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Its happening. Watching now! Making final attack run!


Anon 10/13/2019 (Sun) 00:07:32 [Preview] No.4804 del
ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!


Anon 10/13/2019 (Sun) 00:10:48 [Preview] No.4805 del
Racism plot? Discord...


Anon 10/13/2019 (Sun) 00:12:51 [Preview] No.4806 del
saw some scenes in preview. wow this looks like it could be intense!


Anon 10/13/2019 (Sun) 00:15:35 [Preview] No.4807 del
discord logic almost makes sense...


Anon 10/13/2019 (Sun) 00:18:03 [Preview] No.4808 del
this is better then the oppening so far...


Anon 10/13/2019 (Sun) 00:26:48 [Preview] No.4809 del
CANTERLOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Anon 10/13/2019 (Sun) 00:46:00 [Preview] No.4810 del
pinkie and the brain!


Anon 10/13/2019 (Sun) 00:56:45 [Preview] No.4811 del
beautiful end of two parter...


Anon 10/13/2019 (Sun) 01:00:37 [Preview] No.4812 del
now for the real last ep...


Anon 10/13/2019 (Sun) 01:22:26 [Preview] No.4813 del
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I'm overwhelmed.


Anon 10/13/2019 (Sun) 01:28:16 [Preview] No.4814 del
>>4813
It really is, Bridgefag....

it's amazingly hard how to find the proper feelings towards this.It's a mix of everything and the book is already closed. Nobody knows where we are going nor what we are going to do...

they have left us,we have left them and gen 4 has ended its mission


Anon 10/13/2019 (Sun) 01:51:17 [Preview] No.4815 del
I didn't watch the stream along with the rest of the community because I believed that I was going to be sleeping by the time I am posting this reply. I am sorry for not sharing with you simultaneous reactions.

I.... I don't think that these messages matter all that much to the rest of the people,these words are going to be lost in the tears in the rain.

However,I haven't managed to sleep and find comfort with myself,I simply cannot look past towards an event like this. I watched the ending before the official airing and these extremely rare thoughts of sadness and resignation have made stay awake,trying to find a solution and a little bit of hope with myself.

Nobody is going to pay attention to you as much as I do and I know what you are feeling right now.It's certainly unbearable,touching and really diverse yet you cannot pick what emotion sticks with you the most.


Anon 10/13/2019 (Sun) 02:04:38 [Preview] No.4816 del
>>4814
I don't know how to feel. Its such a huge mix. Completeness, yet some parts of discontentment. This is going to be a hard review.

Though man, threatening to pluck off spike's wings was hard core!


Anon 10/13/2019 (Sun) 02:09:48 [Preview] No.4817 del
>>4815
>However,I haven't managed to sleep and find comfort with myself,I simply cannot look past towards an event like this. I watched the ending before the official airing and these extremely rare thoughts of sadness and resignation have made stay awake,trying to find a solution and a little bit of hope with myself.
I have words to say later. I sort of know this feel becuase last night I stayed up till 7am and this was on my mind.

>I didn't watch the stream along with the rest of the community because I believed that I was going to be sleeping by the time I am posting this reply. I am sorry for not sharing with you simultaneous reactions.
Don't be. I didn't expect anyone else here, but I just did because I did with the premiere of this season.


Anon 10/13/2019 (Sun) 02:14:10 [Preview] No.4818 del
so I want to post these thoughts so you can find a little bit o relief and empathy because of this ending.

It's over,this generation is truly over and the book has decided to write its last page,closing it by the back of it. There isn't more space for anything else,everything has been written and any attempt to change this....is completely useless. This show has come and gone in the exact same way for 9 entire years.

However,instead of focusing in the pessimistic thoughts,I have had a couple of hours for processing the step of the acceptance while you were watching the stream.

We have closed the 4th book of MLP. What does this mean? There is a 5th one to fill and write with a paper completely white. We have only read the most successful one out of the 4.5 ones that have been published in the past.

This means that when does the ride truly end? Let me tell you that if people doesn't want it to end,it won't end because of those who wanted this franchise to stay alive for 6 seasons more than expected (including a movie and a spinoff).

The actual ending for this franchise is the consumer. You are alive,so do I. The most important thing in this world is that you get to have a good health in order to enjoy this content,feel these thoughts and find new lessons/things over time that you hadn't noticed before. The rest will come and go but at least,you manage to live this experience to its fullest until your body says enough.

And I am glad that we have been alive for watching and living this magical moment. It's finally happened and we never thought that we could reach the actual ending. One should feel proud,giving ourselves a hug because there are fans who have sadly died during this ride/decade and haven't had the chance to see this final episode unfortunately.


Anon 10/13/2019 (Sun) 02:15:21 [Preview] No.4819 del
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>>4815
Take some time off from posting L23 and get some sleep. I'll hold down the fort.

>Nobody is going to pay attention to you as much as I do and I know what you are feeling right now.It's certainly unbearable,touching and really diverse yet you cannot pick what emotion sticks with you the most.
I know. Part of me thought it was beautiful. Part of me didn't like some aspects, but I'm not sure if it's sadness of the show ending or the actual lines of criticism. Part of me feels a strange comfort, part of me feels a fear, and the rest is just tired.


Anon 10/13/2019 (Sun) 02:27:41 [Preview] No.4820 del
and one last post before I try to sleep is that...

the message has worked as well. The final message is that it has a price and there is a maintenance that one has to keep.One should keep asking what should be coming next and I am asking myself what have we done to stay here and apply the same morals without noticing them.

Without reviewing this finale....I am glad that a part of the internet has found this show and taken it as a reference,like a guide in a world where the old values are lost. Children are spending their childhoods in a different manner withkut watchi g cartoons yet adults like us have found a show that was supposed to be a meme....and have the ability to guide us for a better world.

A good meme that has turned into a part of the internet. All the fanbase has been involved in this and it's really amazing how this has turned out.

I am nust saying these words in order to tranfer a slight optimism towards this situation and not let that sadness to take over the brain all the time. I believe that I am feeling a little bit better after posting this.


Find your own peace Bridgefag. I have to say goodnight for now.


Anon 10/13/2019 (Sun) 02:35:25 [Preview] No.4821 del
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>>4818
>It's over,this generation is truly over and the book has decided to write its last page,closing it by the back of it. There isn't more space for anything else,everything has been written and any attempt to change this....is completely useless
AUs can still be fun, but yes.

>This means that when does the ride truly end? Let me tell you that if people doesn't want it to end,it won't end because of those who wanted this franchise to stay alive for 6 seasons more than expected (including a movie and a spinoff).
I don't want it to end either. I tell you this. I'm not sure if the fandom will maintain its current level, I'm not sure if one of the piller sights will shut down, but I tell you, if the tiny pre-gen4 adult fandom could maintain too forums with daily postings to this day then somewhere out there our fandom will survive. Another thing? I sort of played this song and dance before, with the one other fandom I felt attached to as a community... Bioicle. It ended, well, I think nearly 10 years ago and to this very day their are still fan projects being made, from 3 hour stop motion movies to revivals of old bioicle games, though tbh, I consider our skills subpar and amaturish in some of this . Even had a questionable short lived reboot. If that fandom can still be making stuff then our fandom certainly will!

>And I am glad that we have been alive for watching and living this magical moment. It's finally happened and we never thought that we could reach the actual ending.
Again, season 8, season 9, considered realm of fan fiction. I remember around season 6 seeing FlimFlamFilosphy (guy who made rainbow dash presents and Mentally Advanced Series) shocked the show got renewed. I remember in 2012 seeing a fic about all of us leaving on the spaceship to the real equestria and people attitude that "it sure be awesome if the show could last that long!" And it did. God bless L23, live long and prosper, because we got past that mark!

>One should feel proud,giving ourselves a hug because there are fans who have sadly died during this ride/decade and haven't had the chance to see this final episode unfortunately.
Oh man, I remember hearing of a few back in 2013...
Yes certainly.


Anon 10/13/2019 (Sun) 02:47:22 [Preview] No.4822 del
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>>4820
>the message has worked as well. The final message is that it has a price and there is a maintenance that one has to keep.One should keep asking what should be coming next and I am asking myself what have we done to stay here and apply the same morals without noticing them.
It's a great moral.

>A good meme that has turned into a part of the internet. All the fanbase has been involved in this and it's really amazing how this has turned out.
It not only apart of the internet, but its own subculture. I don't mean that in "le brony 20 cooler" convention goer sort of way, but that their are certain things here that aren't common elsewhere. Little things that I even see here.

>Find your own peace Bridgefag. I have to say goodnight for now.
It's a mix, but I am turning a corner as I said, not quite my first trip around the block Goodnight /endpone/!


Anon 10/13/2019 (Sun) 17:10:33 [Preview] No.4823 del
Just finished the finale a few hours ago. Not going to lie it was actually really good, especially in comparison to how I thought it would turn out. The little episode after the finale was also surprisingly good, although I’m still not happy with the implications it has for the fandom as a whole, same could be said of most of season 9.

8/10.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=rShiDT-Pp_A [Embed]


飛翔 ルーラー #gIRIl+ 10/13/2019 (Sun) 17:27:43 [Preview] No.4824 del
>>4823
I also really the finale.


Anon 10/13/2019 (Sun) 20:17:23 [Preview] No.4825 del
>>4823
>it was actually really good, especially in comparison to how I thought it would turn out.
it was that great. However, I try to avoid any expectations towards the episodes and judge them directly from what they offer, not from what I expect them to do for me. I committed that mistake once and boy, I surely got disappointed that time.

>I’m still not happy with the implications it has for the fandom as a whole, same could be said of most of season 9.
what do you mean? The implications that we are all leaving as well and getting a bad gen 5?

I don´t know but I only wanted to see this gen having a high mark or at least, a decent one for saying goodbye because most shows fall in quality over time.......but it has proven to be an exception. I cannot ask for more than that.

>>4824
nice


Anon 10/13/2019 (Sun) 20:30:43 [Preview] No.4826 del
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>>4823
Glad you liked it anon. My thoughts on it are still emerging It was a perfect as a final, but I'm a bit iffy on some aspects of the story.

I salute you as well!


Anon 10/13/2019 (Sun) 20:52:08 [Preview] No.4827 del
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>>4824
I salute you too... whoever you are!


Anon 10/13/2019 (Sun) 20:57:33 [Preview] No.4828 del
>>4816
>Its such a huge mix. Completeness, yet some parts of discontentment.
I´ve felt all of that last night before going to sleep. How can one handle those feelings towards a situation of this level? Saying goodbye and having to close the last chapter of the official timeline?


>threatening to pluck off spike's wings was hard core!
little girls shows of 2019, seems legit to me that the writers have decided to write those lines for making a more juicy battle.

>>4817
>I sort of know this feel because last night I stayed up till 7am and this was on my mind.
definitely your case wasn´t all that much healthier than mine, was it?

>I didn't expect anyone else here, but I just did because I did with the premiere of this season
I had to post something because I was watching your replies and I was still undecided if I should have waited or not. In the end, I couldn´t sleep because of those thoughts and the rare case of putting my body into a mode of grey sadness that I couldn´t point out exactly what I should have thought by those moments.

I felt that I had to express my feelings and let them go, without falling into the resignation and posting a more confessional side than usual. I sometimes wonder what part is the hardest: thinking and posting those emotions or reading them in a naked state.

>>4819
>Take some time off from posting L23 and get some sleep. I'll hold down the fort.
thanks for the advice and I actually did that after posting this >>4820. I had some trouble posting the images,refreshing the page a couple of times because I typed that on mobile and there is a certain lag while loading the page (not to mention a few misspellings over there). I simply did that and I was feeling a little bit better than the previous hours after reflecting my mental condition towards this ending.

>Part of me thought it was beautiful. Part of me didn't like some aspects, but I'm not sure if it's sadness of the show ending or the actual lines of criticism. Part of me feels a strange comfort, part of me feels a fear, and the rest is just tired.
you´ve got there why I wrote those posts, I perfectly knew that this material could lead to such a diverse range of feelings that one doesn´t usually handle for almost anything. So many fans have felt like that as well but one should be listened and understand that optimism wasn´t the biggest emotion yesterday towards the future.

Fortunately enough, I have already applied the message of The Last Problem without noticing it. I had some stuff to do, I was entertained because of my friends during this afternoon and I have been listening to new musical releases. So, I have been feeling much better and I have finally visited /mlp/ after almost two months, trying to avoid all the heated reactions and spoilers.

If I had been really depressed and had found my life in an unfortunate situation, this finale would have hurt me more than it did. However,

>>4816
>This is going to be a hard review.
watching it all over again seems like a hard task for avoiding these deep grey emotions but there is the excitement that we are living in a post gen 4 era and the show staff has left us a message of moving on, facing the future we move forward towards something else.


Anon 10/13/2019 (Sun) 21:02:28 [Preview] No.4829 del
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>>4823
>I don´t know but I only wanted to see this gen having a high mark or at least, a decent one for saying goodbye because most shows fall in quality over time.......but it has proven to be an exception. I cannot ask for more than that.
Even if I have some issues my emotions on it have been all over the place I'm still glad the show got so far! I do not know how G5 will go but I can be happy for FiM.


Anon 10/13/2019 (Sun) 21:16:20 [Preview] No.4830 del
>>4821
>AUs can still be fun, but yes.
what I meant there is that the fanbase hasn´t had an excuse to complain and start with new useless dramas because the standards have already been written, their headcanons are not going to appear in the "official show".

Nonetheless, while the show has closed so many paths and headcanons, it has opened lots of different ones. Never forget this line from Celestia in Celestial Advice (S07 E01): "There is no wrong way to fantasize". The base material from this universe is already established and the fun part turns out to be the endless possibilities that you can make with the rules. The Last Problem closed that chapter but Luster Down leaving meant that it´s on our own to create any story because friendship can come at any form at any moment in different ways. The world is huge, the lore comes really close to an RPG game and the characters have had lots of conflicts or different situations where their interactions could lead to the greatest story that no one has heard of, as if we were back to the background ponies era of implications and little details between them.

This show has set its own rules, admitting that My Little Pony doesn´t fear of any fanfiction at all, in fact,it encourages that route by leaving a new door open to that little student from Twilight´s school.

>I don't want it to end either. I tell you this.
I was sad because of this but then a thought sparked in my mind: it´s way worse to run an endless generation. I see the Simpsons and I definitely prefer that gen 4 has opened itself for any fanfiction yet its official series is over. Gen 5 can become more playful towards this regard but seeing how wild this gen has been, I prefer that the wilderness ends before running out of any reasons to be excited about it.

Yes,I admit that I am feeling a lot better today in comparison to my two posts from last night almost as if I am all of sudden happy to find new reasons to go further and see what comes next. But one thing is sure: gen 4 has made history and nothing will prevent that from happening......because it has already happened.

There are lots of reasons for celebrating this single fact than getting sad because of it despite having a truly emotional ending, facing it as another part of its life.


Anon 10/13/2019 (Sun) 21:40:42 [Preview] No.4831 del
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>>4828
>I´ve felt all of that last night before going to sleep. How can one handle those feelings towards a situation of this level? Saying goodbye and having to close the last chapter of the official timeline?
It depends on how one holds things. You can't stand to see it go, yet you are glad that it made it over the finishline. You can't tell sadness from happines and I'm still trying to figure everything out.

>little girls shows of 2019, seems legit to me that the writers have decided to write those lines for making a more juicy battle.
I mean, why not? It's the final, might as well go all out.

>definitely your case wasn´t all that much healthier than mine, was it?
I have been getting awful sleep this week for a variety of reasons, that night however my mind was abuzz, I couldn't get it out of my head that tommorow was the end. This show has been there in the background since at least mid 2011, I remember slowly getting into it after reading the fanfics, and though I don't have an exact timeline eventually finding Fimfiction.net and the rest. Since then it has been one of the only pieces of media I watch and kept track with. It got me to try things I didn't think I would ever do and got me to protect the characters that me and my brother created when we were young. So much has gone by with it still there. Three who eras of my life. So it's freaky that it is finally closed the book.

> I sometimes wonder what part is the hardest: thinking and posting those emotions or reading them in a naked state.
It was a time to get in such a state.

>thanks for the advice and I actually did that after posting this >>4820
Good.

>Fortunately enough, I have already applied the message of The Last Problem without noticing it. I had some stuff to do, I was entertained because of my friends during this afternoon and I have been listening to new musical releases.
I have yet to apply it simply because the highlight of my day was rather boring minor emergency pluming related Awesome though that you had a good Post-FiM day.

>So, I have been feeling much better and I have finally visited /mlp/ after almost two months, trying to avoid all the heated reactions and spoilers.
Though I didn't 100% completely avoid it it's nice to read everything without worry. Nice to see some pockets of optimism and hope there amidst all the chaos.

>If I had been really depressed and had found my life in an unfortunate situation, this finale would have hurt me more than it did. However,
Oh man, if this had happened a year ago for me...


Anon 10/13/2019 (Sun) 21:42:26 [Preview] No.4832 del
>>4821
>I'm not sure if the fandom will maintain its current level, I'm not sure if one of the piller sights will shut down
but if you look at this philosophically speaking, it´s another challenge to face that this fanbase has never had. 2010 is almost (not completely but almost) like the year zero for this phenomenon and this post gen 4 era stands as one of those questions that we will have to solve until gen 5 arrives.

>but I tell you, if the tiny pre-gen4 adult fandom could maintain too forums with daily postings to this day then somewhere out there our fandom will survive.
this community loves claiming its own doom. If fandoms had to compete in a championship of announcing its own death, bronies would be disqualified for being too good at this game. But I agree, fans of MLP have always existed since 1986.

>Another thing, I sort of played this song and dance before, with the one other fandom I felt attached to as a community... Bioicle. It ended, well, I think nearly 10 years ago and to this very day their are still fan projects being made, from 3 hour stop motion movies to revivals of old bioicle games.
>Even had a questionable short lived reboot. If that fandom can still be making stuff then our fandom certainly will!
yeah, it´s certainly comforting to hear that. I didn´t reply to this post >>4478 but

>was clearly dumbed down a bit and was trying to keep a youger demographic in mind.
>many fans were upset because they themselves had been hooked when they where I was because of the impressive depth of the world.
>fans were a bit too hard on it, because whatever final product wouldn't be their taste, but at the same time I don't think lego was able to recapture Bionicle's success with the simplification when what had caused it it was it's immersive world and relative exotic sty
reading these lines also show the challenge that both the company behind gen 5 and the fans will unavoidably face in a couple of years.

Anyway, have you stopped and checked how the Bionicle fans are going these days?

>I remember around season 6 seeing FlimFlamFilosphy (guy who made rainbow dash presents and Mentally Advanced Series) shocked the show got renewed.
I also believed that season 6 was going to be the last, claiming as if The Crystalling aired as the last opener. Honestly, it´s wonderful to check how far this show has gone and nobody in the past expected to reach such limits of this level...and that was in 2016. Wow!

>a fic about all of us leaving on the spaceship to the real equestria and people attitude that "it sure be awesome if the show could last that long!" And it did.
didn´t My Little Dashie predict this? I also saw old posts of Reddit claiming ironically that this show would air with 9 seasons. The funniest part of those speculations from passionate fans is that they have become the actual truth in the end.

>God bless L23, live long and prosper, because we got past that mark!
same to you Bridgefag. Well played folks. It´s been a great pleasure to share this ride and even surpass our own expectations.....and we are here, living a new day after the 4th gen´s closure.

>Oh man, I remember hearing of a few back in 2013...Yes certainly.
they would have been proud and celebrated this event like the rest of us. It was a harsh message to remind but it encourages the optimism and the relief of accomplishing the only requirement for enjoying this franchise. We have had the fortune to live and get the full gen 4 experience defined during all this decade.


Anon 10/13/2019 (Sun) 21:56:01 [Preview] No.4833 del
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>>4830
>what I meant there is that the fanbase hasn´t had an excuse to complain and start with new useless dramas because the standards have already been written, their headcanons are not going to appear in the "official show".
I think the funiest part is that so many are mad that Chrissy got turned to stone when so many wanted her not be reformed!

>Nonetheless, while the show has closed so many paths and headcanons, it has opened lots of different ones.
This is true. Though for me, I can see myself more interested in pre season 4 than the future right now. As I said, Perhaps I'm a stubborn oldfag but I feel really nostagic and I could see me doing something set back in that era well, my newest fic sorta is actually .

>The world is huge, the lore comes really close to an RPG game and the characters have had lots of conflicts or different situations where their interactions could lead to the greatest story that no one has heard of, as if we were back to the background ponies era of implications and little details between them.
This is an awesome point right here. It almost feels like 2012 again in a way.

>This show has set its own rules, admitting that My Little Pony doesn´t fear of any fanfiction at all, in fact,it encourages that route by leaving a new door open to that little student from Twilight´s school.
It'd actually aruge that it in part became fanon, I mean, I used to read stories with Twilight like pic related. Even if I'm actually kind of unsure about it it is still awesome seeing her in this state.

>I was sad because of this but then a thought sparked in my mind: it´s way worse to run an endless generation. I see the Simpsons and I definitely prefer that gen 4 has opened itself for any fanfiction yet its official series is over. Gen 5 can become more playful towards this regard but seeing how wild this gen has been, I prefer that the wilderness ends before running out of any reasons to be excited about it.
Agree here /)

>Yes,I admit that I am feeling a lot better today in comparison to my two posts from last night almost as if I am all of sudden happy to find new reasons to go further a
Me too for the most part.


Anon 10/13/2019 (Sun) 21:59:53 [Preview] No.4834 del
>>4829
>It's a great moral.
that we are already applying even if a few need some help for it.

>It not only apart of the internet, but its own subculture. I don't mean that in "le brony 20 cooler" convention goer sort of way, but that their are certain things here that aren't common elsewhere. Little things that I even see here.
this wild ride has lead to so many things.Sure the 20% cooler worked as a highlight for finding a meme and define something to hold on in an undefined subculture...but 9 years have passed, we cannot stay in that state forever.

If I had to define this as something special is that everything related to MLP, directly or not, has added another line in its own experience. We have lived an undefined book that has gone through lots of spontaneous yet varied events that almost everything else will feel boring in comparison. You were in the Bionicle fanbase but let me tell you that I was going to be a fan of Pokemon in terms of anime. I don´t think that I would have felt such exciting and varied emotions over there...and I am talking about the highest grossing media in existence.

>It's a mix, but I am turning a corner as I said, not quite my first trip around the block
damn, nothing is free of its own complications. Depends mostly on the personal level but even if this sounds familiar to a previous situation that you lived in the past, I guess that there are more things to appreciate because of those past lessons...

>>4829
>Even if I have some issues my emotions on it have been all over the place
really complicated to stay as a rock towards this. I emphasize with the struggle of moving on and I am not an exception either.

>I'm still glad the show got so far! I do not know how G5 will go but I can be happy for FiM.
indeed. Even if the future goes to the worst case scenario, Friendship is Magic cannot be ruined anymore in its own decade. Gen 5 can be anything but FiM will stay there in a complete state, no more fears about its doom. The good side is that this is absolutely permanent and fortunately enough, it was done well until its last season.


Anon 10/13/2019 (Sun) 22:30:18 [Preview] No.4835 del
>>4831
>It depends on how one holds things. You can't stand to see it go, yet you are glad that it made it over the finishline. You can't tell sadness from happines and I'm still trying to figure everything out.
eeeyup, basically I would be repeating myself by replying in this way to you. That language of dealing the emotions is universal. This proves that life can be beautiful as well even if sadness is socially seen as a negative thing to deal with.

>why not? It's the final, might as well go all out
Twilight Sparkle has become the spiritual successor of Goku. It would be piss easy for her if nothing personal for her played a role in a critical battle. She´s an expert in this regard.

>that night however my mind was abuzz, I couldn't get it out of my head that tommorow was the end.
ah dammit. You did that....how strong your emotions must have been right there. By simply that gesture, one can notice who the actual fan is, even if it´s a stranger that stays anonymous. You can tell that spirit just by reading this.

>This show has been there in the background since at least mid 2011, I remember slowly getting into it after reading the fanfics, and though I don't have an exact timeline eventually finding Fimfiction.net and the rest.
>Since then it has been one of the only pieces of media I watch and kept track with. It got me to try things I didn't think I would ever do and got me to protect the characters that me and my brother created when we were young. So much has gone by with it still there. Three who eras of my life. So it's freaky that it is finally closed the book.
not only freaky but also really haunting whenever one manages to read such personal thoughts exposed towards this innocent show. Going back to /mlp/ only intensified this feeling of being surrounded of humans desiring to tell and expose to the world how this show has impacted them in their lives.

You have lived with it for almost 8 years and while you didn´t have the first contact with the show itself, it surely grew for getting attached to this brand. You joined because of the fanfics...I joined in because of the comments from a top 10, laughing at the comments between bronies and antis.

And I share with you that MLP has stayed as one of the few pieces that I have cared for all this decade. I haven´t watched a single episode of Game of Thrones, I have only seen the first season of Breaking Bad and I have stayed quite ignorant towards huge hypes despite knowing them on a surface level. Would any of us have expected to last this long....it´s haunting how many things have occurred yet we are closing this gen with the end of the decade.....dammit.

>It was a time to get in such a state.
so it´s no wonder that I stayed up that late.


Anon 10/13/2019 (Sun) 22:35:02 [Preview] No.4836 del
>>4831
>I have yet to apply it simply because the highlight of my day was rather boring minor emergency pluming related Awesome though that you had a good Post-FiM day.
well, it was something I guess. You will find your own way for getting into the acceptance mode even though things are going much better tonight,posting simultaneously with a more confident mood despite staying unaware of the events of tomorrow.

I have had a good post FIM day but I will recognize that I have stared at the screen for several hours this morning, seeing all the comments and reactions towards the conclusion of this gen. Amazing to see how many people out there have felt the same or have had really peculiar backstories towards this show. It really reminds you that we are humans and as adults, we do have a kid inside of us.

>I didn't 100% completely avoid it it's nice to read everything without worry. Nice to see some pockets of optimism and hope there amidst all the chaos.
yeah but that optimism has to be shown for the community in general. We did that last night, /mlp/ has reached a really humble state surprisingly enough and the EQD side of the fanbase has encouraged it as well. It has even peaked as as a top meme in Knowyourmeme again. It truly shows how much power MLP has over the years.

From this: https://www.cartoonbrew.com/ideas-commentary/the-end-of-the-creator-driven-era-29614.html
to getting a real respect from outsiders nowadays, possibly ending up as a serious top 5 candidate in the animation industry for many.

>if this had happened a year ago for me...
I was like that as well, my personal thread reflected how broken I was after the 2016 events, lacking the illusions I have had....but as all eras, there are always new motivations to forge and carry out. This /endpone/ project has been really therapeutic honestly.

>>4833
>the funiest part is that so many are mad that Chrissy got turned to stone when so many wanted her not be reformed!
there they have her.....unreformed forever and staying in the same state as Discord has been in a millennia. The staff has done this fanservice to those people, I don´t want to ear any complaints because I for sure saw how many bug fans were disappointed towards the new designs . Chryssy didn´t it so you have that statue for all of them to enjoy.


Anon 10/13/2019 (Sun) 22:46:35 [Preview] No.4837 del
>>4833
>This is true. Though for me, I can see myself more interested in pre season 4 than the future right now. As I said, Perhaps I'm a stubborn oldfag but I feel really nostagic and I could see me doing something set back in that era
well, I cannot blame you. You get stuck with the first things that were new to you around that time. I simply try to transmit a message of hope to those that are disenchanted with the series. It hasn´t left its core spirit, it´s always there and it encourages an infinite range of circumstances that can end up in a similar tone of those new feelings you had around 2011-12.

>well, my newest fic sorta is actually
we´ll see whenever it manages to become a reality

>This is an awesome point right here. It almost feels like 2012 again in a way.
indeed just that everything is more stable. The entropy of the earlier years is gone and will never come back but that doesn´t mean that the spirit stays right there. Its language doesn´t understand the word of time and growing old.It keeps going and it relies on those who want to keep it to this day.

>It'd actually aruge that it in part became fanon, I mean, I used to read stories with Twilight like pic related. Even if I'm actually kind of unsure about it it is still awesome seeing her in this state.
the most unique thing about this series has been the events that have become a reality in officially released material. Several pictures of Twilight showed her in this form and in hindsight, this causes a lot of varied reactions.


...and she started as a little nerdy unicorn reading a book in Canterlot...


Anon 10/13/2019 (Sun) 22:58:25 [Preview] No.4838 del
Anyway Bridgefag, I think that I´ve replied to everything that you have posted for now.

I want to remember this little thing: the ending might not be the most meaningful part but how tomorrow manages to get written.

Like the movie events, after the huge party, you have to clean it because life keeps going. Sometimes I find those post-moments even more beautiful than the act itself because they add another layer around it and makes it even greater. It´s the dawn of a new day that is about to come.

Take your time and whenever you feel like, we get to comment about the finale. There is no deadline to it but I suppose that one wants to end the task that was already started.

I think I am ending my activity tonight unless I do a quick post through my mobile.

Have good night /endpone/ and don´t feel sad because the party is over. Sometimes the conversations between the invited ones might reward you more than expected.

/)


Anon 10/14/2019 (Mon) 05:49:42 [Preview] No.4839 del
>>4837
Litterally now I have some ideas with Twilight and Luster Dawn, so now I have no idea where my focus will go!

>>4838
Take a rest. I'll try to get my thoughts togather on the final, though they have been rapidly changing back and forth.

> The entropy of the earlier years is gone and will never come back but that doesn´t mean that the spirit stays right there. Its language doesn´t understand the word of time and growing old.It keeps going and it relies on those who want to keep it to this day.
>Have good night /endpone/ and don´t feel sad because the party is over. Sometimes the conversations between the invited ones might reward you more than expected.
I agree. I fact, though I do not know to what degree, I think our fandom has a chance to become something longer term and a bit more intimate with those who stay. I find this lull between G5 to be possibly an opportunity. I'm not saying I'm a blind optimist or that everything will be exactly the same level of activity, but I don't think things will just die, changes and...

I guess I applied the lesson of the final didn't I?

/)


Anon 10/14/2019 (Mon) 21:46:39 [Preview] No.4840 del
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>Be me
>Day off to myself
>Spends half of it scanning the web at the fandom reaction.
>Still trying to make heads or tails on how I feel about final.
>Making a shitpost in a format I don't like much.


Anon 10/14/2019 (Mon) 22:34:49 [Preview] No.4841 del
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>>4839
>Litterally now I have some ideas with Twilight and Luster Dawn, so now I have no idea where my focus will go!
and that´s fine honestly, it really relies on what you want expose and where you want to go with it. I might have not written greens besides the ones posted here but one thing I´ve noticed.....is the absolute freedom that you have for the story, especially if you play with some established rules but then, you start to go somewhere else.

Not to mention that this show (as if didn´t make it clear before) encourages and has left the door open for the community to go out there and play with the base material. Luster Dawn is simply one of the routes that one fan could write about out of endless options, with the entire world under the hands of any fan.

I don´t know what better gift could be given to the fanbase other than having freedom and getting a clear idea of how this world works,what species one can write about and what situation one can put into the center point of the invented story.

>Take a rest. I'll try to get my thoughts togather on the final, though they have been rapidly changing back and forth.
thanks.
Anyway, I understand that you cannot wrap up your mind and conclude this finale without the complete objectivity because there are lots of emotions behind this and...if anyone had told me that a little girls show could pull out a trigger of anxiety or depressed states for its fans, I would have laughed but we are talking about a finale that has caused an impact and has all the elements to drive someone to a sensible state, hence the review looks so difficult because giving it a 2nd try implies those harsh emotions despite expecting them.

>In fact, though I do not know to what degree, I think our fandom has a chance to become something longer term and a bit more intimate with those who stay. I find this lull between G5 to be possibly an opportunity.
I am not saying that you have to be optimistic even though I have wanted to express that just to get out of the devastating circle that this ending could lead to one fan in the worst case scenario. I didn´t want that to happen neither for me nor you and I stayed up late in order to feel better with myself and attempt that your possibly grey thoughts aren´t unique so the feeling of loneliness and despair doesn´t feel as exclusive to you into a personal level.

Anyway, how will this fanabse go in the future? I don´t know but the statistics are truly amazing. In fact, /mlp/ has had two days of boost with 13k daily posts in 2019 which means that the fanbase has had enough lasting interest in this series until its ending. Derpibooru has more than 2,1 million of images related to MLP and the daily uploads have slowly increased since its debut. Just use the data that you have (you might know it better than me because of your reports in the /go/ thread) so you can make some plausible hypothesis with it.

That´s what actually scientists do, simply register all the activities, study the phenomenons closely and what conclusions/theories can be made from the obtained data.

>I'm not saying I'm a blind optimist or that everything will be exactly the same level of activity, but I don't think things will just die, changes and...
>I guess I applied the lesson of the final didn't I?
it´s a natural pattern of life itself but I didn´t expect that the show was going to expose its last moral towards the fans so directly, about moving on despite the uncertain future. Such a natural action would have happened but the staff literally decided to create the last episode towards that universal life lesson. Predictable but really damn effective and a good one to apply for everything.


Anon 10/14/2019 (Mon) 22:43:18 [Preview] No.4842 del
(145.74 KB 1920x1080 2016580.jpeg)
>>4840
in this post, we see Bridgefag in his natural shitposting mode.

>inb4 he is a newfag at shitposting because he has been lurking all the time instead of opening threads on /mlp/ pretending to be triggered towards any new episode like the average user
>he doesn´t like the method despite going all for it
>mfw this doesn´t make any sense


Anon 10/15/2019 (Tue) 05:34:51 [Preview] No.4843 del
>>4842
i can do better fren
<be me
<be a carrot
<be board
<be slowday
<be so bored dat I watch the final of horsefag show.
<be impressed, confused, and slightly annoyed all at once.
<be slightly curiosity on questions example later
<be sadish
<be a carrot


Anon 10/15/2019 (Tue) 17:04:00 [Preview] No.4845 del
I thought episode 17 was a lot of fun. We had some actual character development for Twilight - I can't remember the last time that happened other than
>wings
Discord was a dick as always, but he wasn't too bad in this episode. Seeing more of the villains working together was fun too, and the episode kept stuff more subtle, simply showing us how they kept the bird off their trail rather than pandering like usual. My only gripes would be that the castle guards are way too retarded, and that Twilight used a really stupid-looking electric style mic rather than using a megaphone or just speaking up a little, there weren't that many people there.
>>4587
this pretty much nails it. I'd probably bump it down to 9/10 myself, just because the scoring is relative to what went before, but all the same this is the first time in a while that I've enjoyed this show this much.


Anon 10/15/2019 (Tue) 20:23:59 [Preview] No.4846 del
>>4843
>be slowday
>be so bored dat I watch the final of horsefag show.
>be impressed, confused, and slightly annoyed all at once.
>be slightly curiosity on questions example later
is this true or is it part of a shitpost/troll move? Because if you have actually watched the last three episodes, your mind must have imploded about the stigma that you have had towards this show (especially if you expected that this was the little girls show of past generations like the 2000s with gen 3).

>>4845
>I thought episode 17 was a lot of fun
it´s seen as highlight in this thread and rightfully so.

>We had some actual character development for Twilight - I can't remember the last time that happened other than
hello? her role as a princess? how she earns even more trust from the royal sisters, becoming the actual leader? There have been episodes about her that have dealt with her traits (Once Upon A Zeppelin, Celestial Advice, several premieres and finales...)

>Seeing more of the villains working together was fun too, and the episode kept stuff more subtle, simply showing us how they kept the bird off their trail rather than pandering like usual.
yeah, the subtlety in this show marks one of the biggest strengths for this gen in these later seasons. However, I do get a greater impact of subtlety on other episodes than this one and I cherish ep 17 because of how it combines both arcs without contacting the villains with the protagonists.

>the castle guards are way too retarded
surprisingly enough, they have been more competent than other seasons. They are still useless but at least, they have tried to do something in these last seasons.

>Twilight used a really stupid-looking electric style mic rather than using a megaphone or just speaking up a little, there weren't that many people there
yeah well, I get bothered by this all that much but eh, it´s okay

>all the same this is the first time in a while that I've enjoyed this show this much.
oh well, that´s nice to hear, a pretty good sign for the show that even in its last season, it can offer enjoyable content at its finest. It solidified the hopes that season 9 could be competent and not enter into a seasonal rot with a bad note (something that we´ve feared several times by the way)Turns out that it is in reverse and fortunately, the loyal fans are (not perfectly but pretty much) rewarded until the very end.


Anon 10/15/2019 (Tue) 21:28:47 [Preview] No.4848 del
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>>4846
>is this true or is it part of a shitpost/troll move?
it's troo boi

>your mind must have imploded about the stigma that you have had towards this show
<not sure
I
<would go dat far
but I have a whole lotta questions.


Anon 10/15/2019 (Tue) 21:43:05 [Preview] No.4849 del
>>4824
yuri or libjp fag?


Anon 10/15/2019 (Tue) 22:26:46 [Preview] No.4853 del
>>4848
>it's troo boi
okay okay, I believe you but I like having some proof of it, just in case.

>not sure I would go dat far but I have a whole lotta questions.
considering that you have decided to watch the finale (probably the Last Problem and not The Ending of the End), everything will look to you like a surprising thing.

Take my reply with seriousness or not but I have commented several times that Friendship is Magic has tons of lore and world building in it, the cast and the species have only increased since its debut and one can get a little bit if one doesn´t follow the full experience. This show isn´t as easy to follow as the average outsider might expect from this franchise (because they see it as girly so it implies that there are no complications nor twists nor anything interesting). Why do you think that we´ve discussed with a lot of paragraphs each episode?

Starting with the final episode....yeah, it seems like a good idea in order for introducing yourself to it, right? No wonder you have a lot of questions.

You have picked a nice episode though.


Anon 10/16/2019 (Wed) 18:43:40 [Preview] No.4857 del
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>>4842
but I wanted to post it here and I only did it because I couldn't think of anything! but yeah it is kind of a strange post tbh


Anon 10/16/2019 (Wed) 18:46:37 [Preview] No.4858 del
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>>4843
>>4848
if ya did color me impressed.


Anon 10/16/2019 (Wed) 19:09:10 [Preview] No.4859 del
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>>4845
>We had some actual character development for Twilight - I can't remember the last time that happened other than
I'd argue that she actually has had a fair amount of development but it took a somewhat wonky path on her and her roll more on that coming up soon

>and the episode kept stuff more subtle, simply showing us how they kept the bird off their trail rather than pandering like usual.
I would agree too, at least in part, I don't know what your definition of pandering is though but I do like subtle moments.

>Twilight used a really stupid-looking electric style mic rather than using a megaphone or just speaking up a little, there weren't that many people there.
I do wonder if it's just the animation and where suppose to to consider there to be a larger audience or we take what we see on screen? The reason I ask this is that it has always been a debate from me how I'm supposed to take, say, the just a single waterspout being the source of all water for Equestria for a year or described traits that aren't portrayed on screen.

>this pretty much nails it. I'd probably bump it down to 9/10 myself, just because the scoring is relative to what went before, but all the same this is the first time in a while that I've enjoyed this show this much.
I can see bumping it down to a 9/10. TBH, I've been confused a bit in my ratings and indecisive in enjoyment vs execution
(I enjoyed it okay but it wasn't my favorite yet the plot was done perfectly). I've probably be bumping some ratings up and done pretty soon as I take final stalk. The reason why this ep scored so high was because it both was a sound plot and I enjoyed it.


Anon 10/16/2019 (Wed) 19:15:20 [Preview] No.4860 del
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Alright, in the next 2 or 3 days to start posting my thoughts on the final. I'm trying to keep it from a ramble and will be splitting the end of the end from The Last Problem, which deserves special attention on it's own. It's been an interesting experience having different emotions on it in different days and trying to figure out what I liked and didn't like because what I like is coated under a layer of sadness and what I didn't like was coated under a layer of feeling of accomplishment


Anon 10/18/2019 (Fri) 09:12:41 [Preview] No.4872 del
>>4846
>There have been episodes about her that have dealt with her traits (Once Upon A Zeppelin, Celestial Advice, several premieres and finales...)
This is true, however I felt like they didn't make any real progress with her character. Celestial Advice would seem to be the episode to cure her panic attacks, but in later episodes we see that the experience hasn't had much of a lasting change. As for Once Upon A Zeppelin, while an episode I enjoyed immensely purely for the inclusion of airships, all she came to terms with was the fact that she was famous. Maybe I was missing the point a little, but the core conflict of that episode felt a little weak to me. So when I say "actual character development", I mean in the sense that it will actually carry over in a proper story arc (by the looks of it), whereas before it felt somewhat like there was an episode reset button.
>surprisingly enough, they have been more competent than other seasons. They are still useless but at least, they have tried to do something in these last seasons.
I know, but they had called back to the episode where Shining Armor ramped up security, so I had hoped to see some added skill from training, or something along those lines. As it was it looked like the security system was super tight when Shining Armor was trying to stop Twilight, but then as soon as he was gone they all slacked off.
>>4859
>I would agree too, at least in part, I don't know what your definition of pandering is though but I do like subtle moments.
Actually we did get some examples in this very episode of what I mean by pandering: they reestablish their plan against Grogar even though I already know about it. I know why they did this, but I'm pleasantly surprised that they didn't explain in dialogue what Chrysalis was doing, especially since I know that if I were the target age for this show I wouldn't have understood what was going on in that scene without explanation (though perhaps I was more retarded than other kids my age.)
>I do wonder if it's just the animation and where suppose to to consider there to be a larger audience or we take what we see on screen?
There has to be, there were way more in the flashback Twilight had of the event. It's pretty hard to believe that less ponies turned up for it when there was a relatively new princess taking part in it this time - unless there's an undercurrent of distrust against princess twilight among the population (which doesn't seem likely but I think is a cool idea. twilight taking over more public duties like the swan ceremony and this episode, she could be interpreted as a kind of usurper.) my main beef was again the disparity of technology in Equestria, but maybe it's more equivalent to interwar (or pre-war) period than victorian, in which case it's plausible that the other ponies were listening to twilight's speech on the radio.


Anon 10/18/2019 (Fri) 23:54:00 [Preview] No.4873 del
>>4839
>Take a rest
definitely I have been doing that. After such a relief of seeing the ending,one doesn't feel such a rushed compromise to do this because this is like an afterlife of it.

Proof of Life Shitpost with one of the royal sisters present.


Anon 10/19/2019 (Sat) 06:19:09 [Preview] No.4874 del
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>>4872
>So when I say "actual character development", I mean in the sense that it will actually carry over in a proper story arc (by the looks of it), whereas before it felt somewhat like there was an episode reset button.
I have been debating this myself, but I'll have to do some rewatches before I make up my mind.

> especially since I know that if I were the target age for this show I wouldn't have understood what was going on in that scene without explanation (though perhaps I was more retarded than other kids my age.)
So you're talking about child pandering and not fandom pandering.

>my main beef was again the disparity of technology in Equestria
Though I know some fans harp on and on but the truth is been since the early days in some form(Pic related), though it has gotten more blatant in later seasons and it can sometims annoy me. My old headcanon was that only pegiasi could travel quickly (Took them a day to get to Canterlot in MMMMmmmmmmmystery on the Friendship express, yet Celestia could travel on her Chariot, took at least a days to get to a place like Appolosa yet I-you know what, I'm too exhusted to post too much. point is Pegasus where mainly the only ones shown with quick travel with most locations still having a vague since of distance in earlier season. So my theory is that they had a mix of magitech, non magitech, and the disparity was explained by a underdeveloped transite system and a lack of mass commutation. Now? IDK, quick travel allows them to go seemly most places in a day and some of the tech can be too hard to rationalize existing together. It's like bioincle with villrgers in straw hunts having access to jetpacks.

Congrats on finally being able to post images! ...though ewwwwwwwwwwwwww. clop is just not my thing. Though it says to spoiler it in the rules I think the informal thing that was said here as long as it wasn't overally gorey it is doesn't have to be so your good.

>>4873
>Proof of Life Shitpost with one of the royal sisters present.
PoLS with a hint of . My review is delayed till mid next week as something bad has happened.


Anon 10/19/2019 (Sat) 17:48:55 [Preview] No.4875 del
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>>4874
>I have been debating this myself, but I'll have to do some rewatches before I make up my mind.
Direct controdiction to what I hinted at earilier, >>.4859
>I'd argue that she actually has had a fair amount of development but it took a somewhat wonky path on her and her roll
I was thinking more in terms of personality as in I have been debating to myself how much or how little her personality has evolved. I think she has had character trait growth in relation to her position but I've been split on the growth of her personality otherwise, and considering my memory is a bit rusty on season 5 through 7 at a lesser extent I was saying that I wanted to do some rewatces in that era .

Also, their is something else that I perhaps should clarify but unfortunately don't have much time atm.
PoLS i guess


Anon 10/20/2019 (Sun) 14:27:10 [Preview] No.4878 del
>>4860
>It's been an interesting experience having different emotions on it in different days and trying to figure out what I liked and didn't like because what I like is coated under a layer of sadness and what I didn't like was coated under a layer of feeling of accomplishment
oh boy, this definitely proves that this review is going to show two different perspectives towards the same material...and I am imagining your thoughts before you expose them explicitly.

>Celestial Advice would seem to be the episode to cure her panic attacks, but in later episodes we see that the experience hasn't had much of a lasting change.
that same argument could have been applied to Fluttershy until...maybe season 5 with her episodes learning how to be assertive (the last one being Filli Vanilli). From there, the cycle ended but she was constantly coming back to those episodes of: learning and then press the reset button.

>all she came to terms with was the fact that she was famous
but that´s another issue that a princess should deal with, she is going to be around Equestria and one should know how to act in front of the public because of such duties. Not sure if it counts for an arc but it seems plausible for her to have those issues.

>the core conflict of that episode felt a little weak to me.
fair enough. Okay.

>I mean in the sense that it will actually carry over in a proper story arc (by the looks of it), whereas before it felt somewhat like there was an episode reset button.
I understand why you believe that and I do notice that Twilight´s episodes have been far and between that surround her. This is most likely due to the writer not having a clear idea what to do with her during a certain period (especially in season 4). Season 9 gave her the steps that she had to take, established an actual defined path but the rest....was as undefined as the future of this show (ironically enough).

In an in-universe explanation, I could give to its defense that her arc consisted about dealing undefined problems that come and go through her life, meaning that there is not an established role model to be a princess except from having an experience and face them properly, hence she has the tile of princess of friendship: compiling her experiences and values extracted from them and transfer them to someone else.

>they had called back to the episode where Shining Armor ramped up security, so I had hoped to see some added skill from training, or something along those lines.
>As it was it looked like the security system was super tight when Shining Armor was trying to stop Twilight, but then as soon as he was gone they all slacked off.
you have answered yourself. Despite the past experiences, the mane 6 proved that they had a lot to be desired and explains why the guards are even less valuable than the original background ponies. The redeeming thing is that despite their lack of competency, the villain trio struggled to enter in the library because of those security actions.So,there is that.


Anon 10/20/2019 (Sun) 15:16:17 [Preview] No.4879 del
>>4872
> know that if I were the target age for this show I wouldn't have understood what was going on in that scene without explanation
wI had seen a couple of little kids trying to figure out what was going on while watching MLP The Movie 2017,imagine if they hadn´t seen the previous episode of that arc and watching the finale...

>It's pretty hard to believe that less ponies turned up for it when there was a relatively new princess taking part in it this time
I believe that I have an explanation for this one. The reason why there aren´t as many ponies as one should consider is that....the first seasons used the copy and paste strategy so the backgrounds are filled with a huge crowd that is about as plain as sticker, zero personality to be found there (until the fanbase gave them a meaning/reason to exist and build a personality almost out of nowhere)

From season 4 onwards, they rely more on unique designs for those background/secondary characters, so this means that all the crowd consisted in less repeated ponies and more about unique characters that we have seen in the previous episodes. The ones celebrating that coronation are those who have actually met Twilight for all these seasons. You simply see characters that have been relevant instead of copying Lyra and Derpy´s design over and over with recolors.

Those who have been there actually appreciate Twilight because they have known her. Combined with the exclusive designs and treatments that the secondary characters have received, this means that there were no reasons to add ponies that weren´t actually involved with her. It feels more like a private celebration, open to everyone but those who are shown in the screen, are those that you have seen in the past.

>>4874
>My old headcanon was that only pegiasi could travel quickly (Took them a day to get to Canterlot in MMMMmmmmmmmystery on the Friendship express, yet Celestia could travel on her Chariot, took at least a days to get to a place like Appolosa yet I-you know what, I'm too exhusted to post too much. point is Pegasus where mainly the only ones shown with quick travel with most locations still having a vague since of distance in earlier season.
headcanon denied. Hippogriffs flew all over the south of Equestria in the movie and reached Canterlot in less than a few hours. The only excuse that I can find from those inconsistencies is about the constant changes and perspectives towards the creative process of this show. It was really undefined and you could see that Twilight came and went flying from Ponyville to Canterlot and viceversa(Amending Fences, Princess Twilight Sparkle...) in a really short amount of time. The single episodes written for those plot didn´t have into account the distances´logic. Even the official map of 2017 doesn´t have a proportional distance (it doesn´t even show the hive nor the Kirin´s village), meaning that the stories can use it to their conveniences. The best way to define the lengths would be with an official video game that displays the entire map and the chance to travel through the entirety of it.

Now that gen 4 is over, hopefully Hasbro releases an official map with all the updates and locations in it. It sounds redundant to have another one but I am still trying to figure out how far the changelings and the kirins are (mostly because they are relevant in the species term, but there are others like Rainbow´s Roadtrip village)

>So my theory is that they had a mix of magitech, non magitech, and the disparity was explained by a underdeveloped transite system and a lack of mass commutation. Now? IDK, quick travel allows them to go seemly most places in a day and some of the tech can be too hard to rationalize existing together. It's like bioincle with villrgers in straw hunts having access to jetpacks.
I think that we are giving too much credit to the writers because I don´t think they dealt with this subject all that much nor MLP was intended to build up an expansive world worthy for a RPG game.


Anon 10/24/2019 (Thu) 21:29:42 [Preview] No.4893 del
So, Discord was behind this the whole time? At first I did not know how this made me feel. It was interesting because I saw a lot who liked everything else otherwise find this particular aspect somewhat questionable. Freaky enough around when Friemies premiered I saw someone suggest this as a theory but I immediately disregarded it as one of those crack pot fan theories. Never saw anyone bring it up again before I dropped out of most speculation when the leak happened. I'd say it's understandable, as, minus the tiniest hint or two this came completely out of nowhere for most of us and our brains struggled to wrap around it. Though upon thinking it over I'd say I actually quite like this plot twist, and not for a stupid surface level "because I didn't see it coming!" reason. I think this fits much better with Discord's nature than some would first think. Discord is chaos. Since his redemption the show (and other official works) have strangled with whether to have him as a cosmic force of nature like he was originally portrayed or just a joker who would sometimes get over his head and really wasn't that scary or powerful. If he was so powerful, why was he so inactive in certain major plots and easily nerfed by Chrysalis' thrown? If he was so weak, than why did he seem like he was manipulating things behind the scenes at times and was brought back by Celestia to fight Tirek? This season finally made a choice and actually brought a pattern here that makes some sense. Discord underestimating and being outright dismissive of his foes is how he has been defeated before by Celestia and Luna, the Mane6 and Tirek. This defeat doesn't feel like an arbitrary plot hole or Discord acting uncharacteristically stupid so much as a flaw he has had from the very start where he thinks he is in control only to find himself taken out by some unforeseen magical force that he discounted do to his arrogance and forgetting that he is still can be valuable to such forces. What better way for a Spirit of chaos than to lose control of his own chaotic plan? Arguably, it makes his chaotic nature stronger because chaos itself can't be controlled. Do you see what I mean? This season made him both a chessmaster and a force of chaos. It also feels like it fits with season 4 when many thought that he was helping Twilight Sparkle grow and learn in his own twisted way with Tirek (speaking of that, this season fits season 4 in several ways, but I'll get to that later in this huge review/thought dump). I'm not saying you couldn't draw a line of criticism toward it, but it just fits in so many ways that are previously established. Regardless if it was intentional or not it, Discord this season actually felt woven together as oppose to having a new set of info that just makes it more confusing for us to figure out.

One other note: I can understand those who wanted Grogar to be his own big deal, but I actually think this was the better option. They would have had to give him his own motivation and backstory, setting him up in the final which would have cut from the main cast and probably robbed us from om good moments.


Anon 10/24/2019 (Thu) 21:43:47 [Preview] No.4894 del
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Subversion...

Now that I am onto the topic of the true three main villains. Our expectations were subverted. Was it a good subversion though? That is where I am slightly mixed. Thematically, the whole, let's use friendship to destroy Equestria for all it was built up wasn't really brought fully into the picture in the final. It was just the reason they were working together. It was an element that wa introduced only to trick us and in The Ending of The End, they just acted like generic evil for the sake of being evil villains for the most part. It feels like the Hollywood version of subversion/plot twist: "See we implied it was this the whole time but it's really not!" It feels like their was potential for something more here with this dynamic they set up. Like a full exploration of what Cozy Glow represents. It was a dynamic partly explored in the season 8 final and it felt clever but could use some more work. There could have been a much more interesting personal conflict other than Twilight losing hope do to the situation being dim from sheer power of villeins and having no elements of harmony. More of an ideological or philosophical bend to it, like TS having doubts on what friendship is if it can be used for evil or something that I think would be easier to set up with what we had: Cozy Glow, Crystalis and Tirek having discovered the bounds of friendship but still being an evil threat that needs to be naturalized. Even if they couldn't go that far it felt like there could have been a little bit more.

...or could there have? I still think there is a couple of lines of defense on this. First of all, it does feel pretty reasonable that they formed a somewhat shaky alliance and it really did not go much beyond that. I think though this defense is somewhat weak from a story telling angle with the fact of them having hinted at this dynamic pretty strongly, but it is something to consider. Secondly I think too there is a point to be made with the nature of the fact that this was the final itself. They were going to try to squeeze as much in as possible. Would exploring such a theme draw too much time away from the main cast? This is the stronger line. Anywhere to just have a giant battle and tons of fanservice in a checklist style format the final is probably the most justified. Putting too much of an overarching theme could've messed that intention up and this choice may not be best to view as a screw up on the writers but a conscious choice on the writers to do it like this. This is why I say I am only slightly conflicted. They still fit in some interesting stuff with the trio (Chrissy vs Dolores, Tirek's father). Even if it's a thematic element that I think should have been explored better I'm not sure how critical I can be on it


Anon 10/24/2019 (Thu) 21:47:26 [Preview] No.4895 del
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Where they justified in turning them to stone? Yes. Each one of them was still a threat and they had previously tried to deal with before. I think this was directly done do to how so many fans hated how everypony was getting redeemed left and right and I think it's 100% fitting for Tirek and 80% fitting for Crissy (because a redeemed Chrissy would certainly be interesting and have a lot to work with with how much hatred she holds and how long she has been a foe). Cozy Glow is still a bit of a moral question but I think that goes back to season 8 when they locked her up in tartarus. They could have had her reject friendship and redemption better in season 8 or a another momenet in season 9. We never really knew how she became evil and her full backstory and if these had been explored better we have better perspective and it would have felt more satisfying rather than the big question marks left over our heads with her. After all, the incomplete exploration of the character and her ideology have caused some even so far as to view her as a martyr to a subverted truth on Equestria friendship is magic, but magic is power They were fully justified in taking out a rough alicorn in that moment though.


Anon 10/24/2019 (Thu) 21:50:57 [Preview] No.4896 del
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Alright, my review/thoughts have started. It may take awhile to fully finish because I have so much to say an am going with one element at a time.


Anon 10/26/2019 (Sat) 04:36:53 [Preview] No.4900 del
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Twilight Sparkle's storyline in this felt pretty cookie cutter. Not her ascension so much as the beats that were hit; we saw all of this in the season premiere. A hopeless situation, the fall/destruction of Canterlot, Twilight Sparkle freaking out. The Ending of The End in many ways just feels like a more epic version of The Beginning of The End, and both share a lot with season 4's final as well, along with to a lesser extent the premiere of that season (we don't have the elements now!). And while I have yet to fully judge the elements of harmony being taken out of the picture and Twilight facing reality on her own twice only to have rainbow friendship magic come save them at the end. It is something that I can draw critical lines at yet almost smile in amusement that it happened twice. I will say this though: if you'd ask me anywhere large amounts of fan service and a bonkers turn your brain off and just watch the homages and call backs, it is the final of FiM. Though I will say I see the premiere of this season in a more critical light sans Discord for being so much like it. They really should've differentiated the too.

I'll get more into Twilight Sparkle though when I get to the Last Problem as that is a far better place to discus her character in depth.
Just gonna keep posting one post at a time if a have to! Just wanted to note these little things before I dig deeper.


Anon 10/27/2019 (Sun) 23:22:15 [Preview] No.4909 del
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I've been a lurker but not a regular poster, so I hope I haven't been too invasive. I didn't watch anything after episode 17 until today. I've just finished watching all that remained. The two parter (End of the End, if I recall correctly) was, and sorry for repeating myself, a lot of fun. My only real gripe is that I felt the music was way too goofy and lacked the gravity needed from the finale. I'd rate the two-parter as an 8 overall, second half would probably rate higher than the first though. I was somewhat surprised at the lack of emotional punch it had, until I realized it had all been saved for The Last Problem. I had kind of hoped from the title that they would do this one as a trivial problem, pre-alicorn era with the friendship journal and everything. Maybe that sounds stupid, but regardless, my disappointment didn't last long. It's somewhat embarrassing to say, but I doubt I'm alone in this: I cried a lot during this episode. It started earlier than expected in hindsight, the scene where Twilight sits alone in the empty library with the comic in front of her, her friends apparently uncaring of her concerns, cut quite close to some of my own personal experiences, so I was already pretty emotional when the last song started. They really knew how to deliver that final emotional kick with returning to Ponyville one last time. I know I'm rambling at this point, but what the heck, I won't really have a chance to do this again. I've only cried at fiction twice before: the BSG remake's finale, and the Babylon 5 finale, and this final episode absolutely knocked those two out of the park. I rate it 10 out of 10: it might not be the best possible ending to the show, but it was best ending for me. I still kind of think ending in season 3 would have worked, but with all the good that came with the bad afterward, overall I'm glad I got to enjoy this longer. No single piece of fiction has ever had as strong an effect on me and my life than this.
>>4874
> ...though ewwwwwwwwwwwwww. clop is just not my thing.
Sorry, I don't really have very many suitable images saved, they were all on my old computer.


Anon 10/28/2019 (Mon) 06:25:45 [Preview] No.4911 del
>>4909
>I've been a lurker but not a regular poster, so I hope I haven't been too invasive.
While this board has been largely of a personal nature sometimes in its history just composing of two anons having long meandering cover various topics, it's not an exclusive one. So no you aren't being invasive at all. Perfectly welcome here.

>a lot of fun. My only real gripe is that. I'd rate the two-parter as an 8 overall
Indeed it was fun. Though I am still trying to work out my full thoughts, and think some storylines could have been done better overall from a season perspective I can't complain from the awesome movements and fan service done right.

> I felt the music was way too goofy and lacked the gravity needed from the finale
> I was somewhat surprised at the lack of emotional punch it had,
I'd say that final scene at Donut Joe's was pretty big one for me, but yeah, though the action was intense, I suppose you could make a good case that from a mechanical perspective on all the elements being in thematic sync with each other Season 4's premiere moment with Nightmare Moon vs Celestia may have been stronger emotionally Notice how when Twilight thought Celestia had died the music was briefly gone? In service for a dramatic moment and done for just a brief period of time. Though I can recall times where I was struck by the acting and the fighting, I can't recall anytime where I considered the music/background ambience in the same way wow I pay too much attention to elements

>I had kind of hoped from the title that they would do this one as a trivial problem, pre-alicorn era with the friendship journal and everything. Maybe that sounds stupid,
Nah, I could understand that desire though do yo mean Friendship letters?

>so I was already pretty emotional when the last song started. They really knew how to deliver that final emotional kick with returning to Ponyville one last time. I know I'm rambling at this point, but what the heck, I won't really have a chance to do this again. I've only cried at fiction twice before: the BSG remake's finale, and the Babylon 5 finale, and this final episode absolutely knocked those two out of the park. I rate it 10 out of 10: it might not be the best possible ending to the show, but it was best ending for me.
I feel more conflicted on it as an arc resolution, but in spite of my problems this episode did leave a feeling of completeness and you were not alone in your tears I have never seen Babylon 5 or the remake but this final had so much going on with it. In a way, we were a part of it's existence, so regardless of your thoughts on the show, one cannot help but feel a mix of pride at getting so far down the road and a shock that it's over. It can be a pretty intimate, haunting and frankly beautiful experience in a way that you couldn't feel simply watching a story unfold.

>Sorry, I don't really have very many suitable images saved, they were all on my old computer.
Don't worry about it. I'm not going to ban it outright even with my personal distaste because it'd be in conflict with this side of the fandom's nature and lead to idiotic division Me and my fellow oldfag are currently working out how this place will be governed now that we seem not quite as alone on this little board, but this place ain't taking a tumblr route. (will be clarified shortly, like a few days).


Anon 10/28/2019 (Mon) 07:07:39 [Preview] No.4914 del
Next review is going to be delayed for a bit. Feel free to post here otherwise.


Anon 10/28/2019 (Mon) 22:45:22 [Preview] No.4920 del
>>4909
>I've been a lurker but not a regular poster, so I hope I haven't been too invasive.
the question that comes up to my head by reading this line is not about the invasive part (dude, we are two people doing a personal alternate project and the third one has left this in summer sadly) but when you began to lurk over here.

>I didn't watch anything after episode 17 until today. I've just finished watching all that remained.
you made it, you ended the ride in the end. One cannot ask for more passion than that for this generation. Now, it´s all a matter of your own taste but at least, you have seen the last rays of this sunset with your own eyes and...you have been rewarded for accomplishing this task.

>My only real gripe is that I felt the music was way too goofy and lacked the gravity needed from the finale
yeah, season 4 did this much better or even the premiere of this season in this regard.The action was really cool though.

>until I realized it had all been saved for The Last Problem.
three parter finale or more like finale+ epilogue. Even though The Last Problem can be reviewed independently, The Ending of the End doesn´t have any pay off beyond beating the villains.

>but I doubt I'm alone in this: I cried a lot during this episode. It started earlier than expected in hindsight, the scene where Twilight sits alone in the empty library with the comic in front of her, her friends apparently uncaring of her concerns, cut quite close to some of my own personal experiences, so I was already pretty emotional when the last song started. They really knew how to deliver that final emotional kick with returning to Ponyville one last time. I know I'm rambling at this point, but what the heck, I won't really have a chance to do this again.
you know, reading these lines actually say a lot for a franchise. It´s hard to find words when one person arrives to these deep emotions that you don´t usually see very often. Those who have been watching the show for several years, stayed loyal to it, thought that it would never, it actually ends with this execution and with a message of: it´s time move on, it´s up to you to write the next book. It means that you are a human and it hurts to close a beloved phase in your life. The emotional trigger can hurt a lot if taken to an extreme unfortunately, fearing about your own future...


Reading those lines are both haunting and really really charming.

>it might not be the best possible ending to the show, but it was best ending for me.
I haven´t given it a 2nd try yet but I am feeling like it´s a true highlight for this season.

I have good news for you, it might not be the best ending that one can consider.....but this poll shows that you are far from alone in those thoughts. It has won the EQD poll this week.

>I still kind of think ending in season 3 would have worked
I disagree with this statement personally. In fact, Magical Mystery Cure feels sort of disappointing for the alicornification process (not the status but the build up was the problem for me), leaving it in a pretty low spot in terms of finales. The Last Problem was well deserved, has compiled the achievements and it was long time coming that Twilight was going to replace Celestia. The Last Problem beats MMC for me by a really really long mile.

>but with all the good that came with the bad afterward, overall I'm glad I got to enjoy this longer. No single piece of fiction has ever had as strong an effect on me and my life than this.
amen to that, anon. Amen.


Anon 10/28/2019 (Mon) 23:20:17 [Preview] No.4921 del
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>>4911
>this place ain't taking a tumblr route.
that social media has really fallen apart and we should take a lesson from mistakes that lead to its downward spiral,
>While this board has been largely of a personal nature sometimes in its history just composing of two anons having long meandering cover various topics, it's not an exclusive one
it´s really personal at those times but when someone gets involved in anything, the dynamic changes and the replies keep coming as usual. As you say, there is no exclusivity despite that personal side that has (ironically) driven the board to a few relevant decisions motivated by it.

>I can't complain from the awesome movements and fan service done right.
this.

>In a way, we were a part of it's existence, so regardless of your thoughts on the show, one cannot help but feel a mix of pride at getting so far down the road and a shock that it's over. It can be a pretty intimate, haunting and frankly beautiful experience in a way that you couldn't feel simply watching a story unfold.
and in a way, that´s the wisest perspective that one could come with when it comes to these emotional situations. It´s so private for everyone yet one can emphasize so much because we all have spent time with the same show. The fact that it has managed to end with in a high note means that the show can resist the test of time from the beginning to its end on its own. It´s rewarding to the consumer and this achievement cannot be applied to most series. We are really fortunate to have lived and see the whole product, closing the book with a really charming episode.

I will probably repeat it with my future replies but if any fan has reached this point, watching the whole series, no one is going to ask to you anything else at least, me. Gen 4 is over and despite the future gen 4 related content (comics or any media), the average fan has done its part. You can feel proud for reaching the end together.

Gen 5 is another story that will be defined over time but the irreversible game changer of this franchise has given everything that could offer to us. One should be really proud of spending time on this series and living its ups and downs as an unique experience.

Anything else beyond the 12th of October of 2019, it´s up to the fan for leaving or staying in the community. Either way,both decisions are understandable and respectable to my eyes. The memories will always stay there.


Anon 11/08/2019 (Fri) 22:54:59 [Preview] No.4978 del
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My thoughts on the final are mixed. Loved that it ended in a pretty epic fashion but my brain can't stop logicing it.


Anon 11/09/2019 (Sat) 06:42:50 [Preview] No.4986 del
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>>4978
I'd say that you try to decide what standard you are going to judge it by. Say, does the Villain's magic destroying Canterlot but being blocked by a piece of debris so Twily can escape bug you? If it's those kind of simple logical nitpicks I think that would be a waste of brain power unless you are writing a fic that deals with that event some how or are really going to nerd out on Magic. I wouldn't let that affect that my rating. I would say that be better to compare and contrast with internal consistency of the show's logic (for example, getting angry for Celestia being stupid from a in real world strategic perspective is one thing, being so stupid that Twilight pointed out how crazy in the universe it is to transfer power in a few days is another). Though even then there is a special problem with the final is that, whenever something happened in the show, I'd wait to see if another episode corroborated it before it could be regarded as canon. Often episode's will have an implication or two that will never go anywhere and only be implied once. (Basically my model is: episode canon, season canon, overall canon or implication that has been made for more than one season). I've been trying to look at overall motifs and dynamics, but with the final, this is the last look. So how should one judge a minor throw away line there?


Anon 11/09/2019 (Sat) 19:52:44 [Preview] No.4987 del
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>>4986
My problem was that it felt like the story was sacrificed for a great final. Emotional highs and fanservice over something more substantial. Yet I love it to death even when bringing up the faults, like Twilight feeling like Celestia's puppet and flawed rehash of the premier in the final. I don't know. I still have pride for getting to this mark.

>>4894
I think this is a perfect point. There was a lot of set up with no pay off for them.


Anon 11/10/2019 (Sun) 13:27:54 [Preview] No.4992 del
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>>4911
>Nah, I could understand that desire though do yo mean Friendship letters?
I did say pre-alicorn era, so I guess I did. I don't really remember what I was thinking at the time, I could have meant either the letters or the journal. The general idea was something like the characters remembering a simple friendship lesson from back then that was pertinent to their new situation in some way, or something like that.
>>4920
>the question that comes up to my head by reading this line is not about the invasive part (dude, we are two people doing a personal alternate project and the third one has left this in summer sadly) but when you began to lurk over here.
I don't have a great memory, but I think it was sometime last year.
>Those who have been watching the show for several years, stayed loyal to it, thought that it would never, it actually ends with this execution and with a message of: it´s time move on, it´s up to you to write the next book.
I think it was an especially good message for kids, and was actually somewhat similar to to The Last Crusade earlier in the season. And in fact it was the topic common to both of those episodes that made that moment in the last episode so emotional for me, but The Last Crusade didn't really affect me. I think it's because Scootaloo's friends were with her the whole time, and they actively tried to stop the move. There wasn't a moment where Scootaloo felt that emptiness. I wish I had seen this last episode a long time ago, because I didn't deal with having to move to the other side of the country well. We moved in the middle of a school holiday, so I didn't get to say goodbye to my friends, and once we got there I didn't make any new ones. Even more than a decade later, and now and adult, I'm still miserable about having moved. So that moment where Twilight was alone in her empty library - I knew that feeling exactly, and it dug up a lot of old pain that I'd forgotten. Twilight has always been the pony I've identified with the most, but never moreso than then.
>I haven´t given it a 2nd try yet but I am feeling like it´s a true highlight for this season.
>I have good news for you, it might not be the best ending that one can consider.....but this poll shows that you are far from alone in those thoughts. It has won the EQD poll this week.
It doesn't totally surprise me, but I am surprised that there aren't more detractors. I guess it was better received than I thought.
>I disagree with this statement personally. In fact, Magical Mystery Cure feels sort of disappointing for the alicornification process (not the status but the build up was the problem for me), leaving it in a pretty low spot in terms of finales.
Like with the use of the word "pandering" earlier, I think I've completely miscommunicated what I mean. I always saw the season 3 finale as being a deliberate lead-in to season 4 (though having read your post perhaps I was wrong about that. back in early season 4 I still wasn't really reading show news and stuff, I was just into the fan content and the show itself without much interest in the meta back then) so what I meant was I think a different finale that actually satisfyingly closed the show, without any alicorn shenanigans or hat-pull problems or any of the baggage that came post-alicorn. Something like when Dolores beat Chrysalis, except with Twilight and her gang.
>The Last Problem beats MMC for me by a really really long mile.
I'm 100% in agreement. I was actually enjoying MMC until the Celestia and Alicorn reveal bits. I remember when I was watching it that I thought it would be really cool if there was a 4th season where it took place in this universe with the cutie marks messed up, and Twilight has to fix the world with her knowledge. It made sense to me at the time, feeling like a lot of the friendship issues has been resolved so having the world get wrecked accidentally by Twilight would re-introduce conflict. Anyway, there's other reasons why I hate MMC, but I won't get into that, the point is sorry for not explaining my point better.


Anon 11/12/2019 (Tue) 08:54:08 [Preview] No.5001 del
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>>4987
>My problem was that it felt like the story was sacrificed for a great final.
>Yet I love it to death even when bringing up the faults
Frankly, though I'm maybe a bit more mixed mind, I think the final was trying to do everything that a final should do. Even stuff with the villians I can't really fault it heavily for simply because I'm not sure how ploting it another way would've worked without robing some spotlight from main characters and fan service though it still perhaps could've have been done a bit better.

>>4992
>so I didn't get to say goodbye to my friends, and once we got there I didn't make any new ones. Even more than a decade later, and now and adult, I'm still miserable about having moved.
Wow... I can relate to that. Not the moving part but my entire social group collapsed from rumors and lies. Though I wasn't a prime player in it I did lose most of my friends and still haven't recovered from it fully.
I can see how that would get to you. Though I'll cover it in detail later, yes, I fully agree it was a perfect parting message.

> It made sense to me at the time, feeling like a lot of the friendship issues has been resolved so having the world get wrecked accidentally by Twilight would re-introduce conflict.
You know? I get this. In thinking in terms of a children's show hitting it's syndication mark and it's hype. I mean they reformed Discord and ponies seemed at the height of their power, so I can see why someone would feel that all the problems are fixed, new ones have to be artificially introduced.

>I don't have a great memory, but I think it was sometime last year.
Wow, you've been here a bit longer than I thought.
Cool.


Anon 11/13/2019 (Wed) 20:42:33 [Preview] No.5011 del
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AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!


Anon 11/13/2019 (Wed) 20:45:59 [Preview] No.5012 del
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Well... uh... more pony I guess. I am not sure I like this from the look. G 4.5 has arrived.

https://www.equestriadaily.com/2019/11/hasbro-presser-reveals-new-show-title.html


Anon 11/14/2019 (Thu) 04:43:34 [Preview] No.5014 del
>>5012
You poor ponyfags. They turned your show into Teen Titians Go!

Unironic POLS for thoughts on the final I want to post later


Anon 11/16/2019 (Sat) 22:48:33 [Preview] No.5033 del
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>>4896
Where do I go?

I just rewatched the Ending of the End Parts 1 and 2 yesterday and I could go on a tangent on so many things! Positive, negative, theories etc. It just feels like I could run so long with this that I'm not sure where to start. I've decided just to make what could turn out to be a pretty rambling finish to this review and move on. As there is other things to discuss. The Last Problem will be getting it's own separate review later.


Anon 11/16/2019 (Sat) 22:59:31 [Preview] No.5034 del
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>>5033
I think my overall critical feel for this at this time is that it did nearly everything it had to do as a final, at a possible expense at a better written story. I'm not sure how much of I can really blame or give credit to on the story front as this show was a process between multiple individuals and organizations. Like, for example? Hasbro has final say on everything in the show, even if they are somewhat liberal with it they have intervened at various times, sometimes strangely (a recent QnA by big jim (I think) said that Hasbro was the one who said Diamond Tara's story was through, which seems strange). This is not a total defense of the crew conduct or to say that all of their writing mistakes are 100% just Hasbro meddling, but it's a factor that prevents me from blaming simply one person for something that I find questionable at least easily . There are multiple factors influencing this show. Multiple writers moving in and out, etc. I still have my criticisms and observations. For example, even with above in mind, it seems like the last three seasons before Season 9 were setting up each for something long term then have to put it aside for something else. Dolores being the new character that the audience can relate to and does the adventuring in Season 6, yet her roll gradually got downgraded. Season 7 introduced a big lore set up and had the most cohesive and connected plot with some attempt to tie into the comics and such better, yet in Season 8, we have a school, in Season 9, the school is partly sidelined. With each change it felt like the previous plot points were almost obstacles to the current storyline of the season. I think the blame gets scattered pretty far around and not all the story adjustments were handled poorly (Dolores's role reduction probably being the smoothest) This episode had to be the end to all of it and try to include as many call backs to the mess of the story while focusing primary on the main core of characters. They had numerous callbacks, fit the school in, had Crissy fight Dolores, and even brought back the pillars for a bit part while having the story still primary centered on the mane6. Looking at it on an episode level I think they did what they needed to do.


Anon 11/16/2019 (Sat) 23:02:23 [Preview] No.5035 del
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>>5034
So, what can I hold accountable to this episode? It's hard to say. Because I think a lot of what I have as a problem is more of stuff that should've been handled before this ep. I'm still a bit split on Cozy and the whole subversion of friendship, a lot of potential yet apparently they didn't even have a backstory for her, which just seems nuts to me considering how interesting of a concept she represented. Is that the episode's fault though? I mean, having too big of a villain story would have disrupted the final. Of any story to have the villains playing a fun roll of big baddies this is the one where it is most fitting. So it's perhaps something that should have been thought of long before. Another factor that is perhaps a stronger line of criticism is the season opener, which feels way too similar to this final. Perhaps even a more desperate situation than what they had faced here as Sombra actually was going around imposing mass mind control while here the populace for the most part still retained their anatomy and actually factored in the end. But is that something that I hold against the episode? Perhaps I can hold the fact that Twilight becoming demoralized and going off on her own only to be encouraged by her friends has been done. It almost feels kind of stupid for Twilight this season to be bemoaning the loss of the elements that they had already been removed once for the plot in season 4 and Twilight having a repeat of the elements where inside all along, something she learned in the second episode of the show and in the opener. I actually think I could muster a partial line of defense involving the fact that this is a very very scary situation and this is the moment that makes the most sense for Twily to be demoralized. Perhaps some writing on this end could be better but I'd say that this should be here and the opener should've been written a bit differently instead.

See what I mean? Spent hours thinking on this. I almost want to say it's flawed yet almost perfect...


Anon 11/16/2019 (Sat) 23:18:35 [Preview] No.5036 del
>>5035
There was a lot of things I liked. I loved the mane6 fight scenes probably the most. The grand fight at the end was fun too. I loved Pinkie Pie controlling Discord's chaos magic. It was a fun moment with perhaps a bit of implications. I liked how they fit in all the cameos in the end fight... I don't know where to go.

Here is some scattershot observations;

1) I remember especially in the earlier days they tried to mostly explain away Pinkie's seemingly odd abilities. Cartoon gags were just that. She just hid things around ponyvile, etc. Yet even in Season 1 we were presented with an ability that was shown to have no explanation and Pinkie's cartoon gags had become increasingly acknowledged in plot. And Pinkie's strange abilities even in the Golden Age of Season 1 and 2 (using her party canon in fight with the changelings in a Canterlot Wedding) and the Silver Age of Season 4 (for example, her using her mane to drill underground in Bats!) went a bit beyond just a gag. I'd say that Pinkie having something more than just beyond jokes was already pretty close to canon early on and has become almost certainly canon with time. Could Pinkie controlling Discord's magic after having established how hard and dangerous this was be them saying that Pinkie has a bit of chaos magic? I'd say it's possible, as in you wouldn't be just running into headcanon territory.

2)...but one must remember that magic has been usually pretty inconsistent, especially in later seasons. I mean we have Cozy Glow being able to perfectly control magic as an alicorn in this same episode. It's strange to try to rationalize with how much trouble Twilight had with the massive boon of magic is season 4 finial. Yet, I could see some half decent attempts, but ultimately this was given just to give Cozy a boost to up her level of threat with the other villains. I'd really like to try to study the magic in the show because even if logic took a back seat at times they still tried to put implications for rules and there have been somethings that they have been weirdly consistent on (or so that I can recall) like with Teleportation and some strangeness I've noticed with the Alicorns that I'll hopefully get onto later.

3) They finally made the Pinkie and the Brain reference in show! (though it was a bit at an odd moment)

4)So many call backs! It was nice for them to fit little bits devoted to such things as 10 seconnds flat and Cherry Chimmychonnga or however you spell that... but there is one call back that was bigger than the rest for me...


Anon 11/16/2019 (Sat) 23:21:38 [Preview] No.5037 del
>>5036
Donut Joe's... that last scene calling back all the way to season 1's final. I'm gonna have to partly take back what I said about an emotional punch, for this does have it for me, perhaps even bigger than the Last Problem (though it maybe in part because of that episode). It just calls back to a time when things were simpler for the show. I'm at a loss as to what to say here impart because from here on out my emotions go into a wild divergence in what is some of the strongest ambivalence I've ever felt. It just feels like that small simple world is shattered in a way. I don't like this scene, yet I love that it was here. I've been trying trying to split my emotion and see if there are any rational criticisms that I can muster and I can't. It's a beautiful scene. I'm not sure even if it's the scene itself that actually makes me so emotional with it. Part of it is from the obvious acknowledgment the show is ending though. There is a certain... pain with it all, but I'm not sure how to put it. Like I'm not sure it's the fact that it's ending on how it ended. I'll get more into that with the next and much harder review that will be The Last Problem. It's really strange as I feel a completeness and almost satisfaction as well there to and I do not what anypony to think my thoughts are purely negative. Maybe it's better to say that I love this scene but I don't enjoy it. Oh by the way, that scene is also my favorite scene... I just can't stand watching it!

7.5/10 This rating seems low doesn't it? Keep in mind that 7 for means satisfactory. It's just a compromise. This is based on the quality mixed with my enjoyment (hard to have fun for me with the stakes, so my fun levels on this are lower tier) yet in ways I adore this. I've wanted to give as high as an 8.7 to as low as a 6. I think I have settled to overall liking it but I've thought through several times and sometimes have radically different feel for things.


Anon 11/17/2019 (Sun) 00:06:33 [Preview] No.5039 del
>>5036
Alright, two more.

5) I found the dynamic interesting with all the races separating. I remember that being a comon head canon early on where each of the races lived separately and just interacted/visited each other (Unicorns in Canterlot, Pegisi in Cloudsdale and Earth Ponies in POnyville). It strange after seeing all the stuff contradicting it to see a dynamic like that happen on screen. TBH, it almost feels wrong as, from a real world logic perspective, there would be those who'd still be completely tied to there communities. But even from the logic of the show you'd think some of the ones who were family would've stayed (we did see Sugarmac) but I wouldn't think Bon Bon and Lyra would have split either. This would've been better if they had said most, rather than all, of the unicorns and pegisi had left. This also sets up an interesting thought for other mixed families. Aw well, while there could've been a bit of more of nuance, they probably would've had the time to do more than a thrown away line or implication. Moderately irksome.

6) Did they do a good job with the set up? They at least had this implication with how the unicorns turned quickly at Crissy's suggestion that it was beneath them back in ep 17. There could have been more but it's I can find reasonable happening mostly offscreen with other plot points they had to tend to. This season has been pretty weird overall with its arc. We have some tiny background elements brought up more than once and actually somewhat matter (Like the fragments of chrissy's thrown) and others that seem slightly askew or DOA (What was the magic tree house for!?!?! Holo-Twi had a cameo...). It's honestly in the middle as I wouldn't call it awful but it isn't as smooth of an integration as Season 4 or 7.


Anon 11/17/2019 (Sun) 00:18:31 [Preview] No.5040 del
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>>5014
>They turned your show into Teen Titians Go!
Will see how it is. Though my expectations are at the highest it may have some interesting elements but still feel kind of bland/strange to at the lowest it being something that is utterly irredeemable and soulless. I'm wouldn't mind being surprised but I place my bets it being somewhere between those two.

>Unironic POLS for thoughts on the final I want to post later
...
>>4853
pic related


Anon 11/17/2019 (Sun) 00:33:41 [Preview] No.5041 del
>>5034
>a recent QnA by big jim (I think) said that Hasbro was the one who said Diamond Tara's story was through, which seems strange
Here it is.
https://www.equestriadaily.com/2019/09/cut-ideas-and-general-my-little-pony.html
Q: Did you ever have any ideas or pitches for a Silver Spoon focus episode?

A: Yup. An executive at Hasbro told us after we pitched some stuff for SS and DT, that they felt their story was “over”.


Anon 11/17/2019 (Sun) 22:28:59 [Preview] No.5045 del
>>4992
>I think it was sometime last year.
then you could have probably left a random/spontaneous post here. It´s no wonder that you would go here considering that /endpone/ reached the first page by that point.

>in fact it was the topic common to both of those episodes that made that moment in the last episode so emotional for me, but The Last Crusade didn't really affect me. I think it's because Scootaloo's friends were with her the whole time, and they actively tried to stop the move. There wasn't a moment where Scootaloo felt that emptiness.
I have my reservations towards The Last Crusade but I can see the similarities between both episodes, that scene when all Scootaloo´s friends appeared felt like the CMC circle was coming to a close (even though the grown up episode happened later in the season). It tried to bring that feeling but Twilight´s one has more staying power because of the different circumstances. Even though that would be unfair, considering that the CMC are fillies and even with that factor, they have faced quite messed up situation in their path.

So yeah, I didn´t get that strong feeling either.

>didn't deal with having to move to the other side of the country well. We moved in the middle of a school holiday, so I didn't get to say goodbye to my friends, and once we got there I didn't make any new ones. Even more than a decade later, and now and adult, I'm still miserable about having moved.

>that moment where Twilight was alone in her empty library - I knew that feeling exactly, and it dug up a lot of old pain that I'd forgotten.Twilight has always been the pony I've identified with the most, but never moreso than then.

I am going to be honest, I didn´t expect (even though it´s on the nature of /endpone/) reading those words from your part in the first posts here. I understand pretty well that The Last Problem has shown those hard aspect of getting into a new phase and feeling helpless that everything will go sooner or later. It´s truly awful, challenging to accept and it might cause some irreversible changes.

I don´t know if I had mentioned before but there were a few fans out there who had anxiety from seeing this episode, causing an emotional trigger of losing someone or something that you cared for more years than expected. The famous 5 stages of grief could come into play and I read out there that those people needed genuine help. The finale was only a reminder or a medium to realize about their own lives and this is why this episode is really hard to review on its own: a lot of people can take really personal stories out of it.

I believe that the only other case that has caused this much of an impact could be Toy Story 3 but...as this show was an experience, it reaches more personal levels to anyone, hence why you feel like that.

I am fortunately too young but I am doomed at trying to avoid these situations, it will happen to me and anyone else.

If you don´t want to feel so bad, I don´t have almost any current friends from the school nor the secondary one (expect one or two that I met more outside of it than inside), I only had classmates that made my life really annoying. I went in reverse, the more I grew up, the more I appreciated my situation. Despite not moving at all from the town, I simply notice them but barely any interactions happen between those old mates and me.

Despite not moving away, I mostly go to the capital city and sometimes for quite long periods, I stay there all day long, only coming back at nights. I met really shitty "friends/mates" and now, I don´t even know about their existence nor I care at all.

So, I´ve discovered a better life these days,in spite of those people that I met in the past, not because of them. And let me tell you, having one or two good ones is much more valuable than having a gang of 10 people in the long run (even though it feels like I am describing the Sweet and Smoky episode here)


Anon 11/17/2019 (Sun) 23:11:47 [Preview] No.5046 del
>>4992
>I am surprised that there aren't more detractors. I guess it was better received than I thought.
Twilight has a beautiful design in this episode and the alicornhood isn´t anything new for us. The episode was really well written, material for bringing emotive discussions around it and closes the series with gags and a little story that add the cherry on top of the series. The fanbase might come up with a few dramas back and forth but Twilicorn had its hype in 2013. It wouldn´t make sense to expose that regret at this point.

When you get past of the superficial,one analyzes the aspects that matter. The Last Problem ended this series wonderfully and as I see it, it deserves to be cherished.

>the use of the word "pandering" earlier, I think I've completely miscommunicated what I mean.
fan pandering is hard to explain. I will try to answer it in my own way.
In theory, this show was meant to have 65 episodes, meaning that MMC was the actual finale for this series. From that change of direction, it´s heavily implied (with good reasons) that Hasbro kept going just to milk the franchise for more years,hence the episode didn´t feel really rewarding for such a change at the time (now,alicorns after seeing Flurry Heart or Cozy Glow aren´t that big of a deal, but at that time,it was).

I would say that fan pandering is everything that wasn´t planned from the show.One could say Derpy,Slice of Life, the laser beam fights or getting to know more about the lore.

However, I consider that the pandering in general was more about continuing a series that was meant to end before yet its steps felt natural for its own universe and even getting feedback from its own additions: Derpy got a job in the mail office, the new species had their own slice of life eps and the epic fights became a standard.

It´s no longer about pandering to the fans because it´s accepted by the show itself so fans could run out of wishlists, changing them over time.It´s more like the show panders to its own self, creating a weird spontaneous timeline that joins every single element that has had an impact on its universe. This is shown in some finales (like the 4th or 5th ones)when the writers implied that it could have been the last season for the generation. Fortunately, there isn´t that uncertainty anymore.

>I think a different finale that actually satisfyingly closed the show, without any alicorn shenanigans or hat-pull problems or any of the baggage that came post-alicorn.
yeah. You can see that it wraps up all the past characters or gags that were shown in the past, so it´s not like the conflict comes out of nowhere like MMC did for "reasons". You cannot find anything controversial in The Last Problem, because it´s mundane and didn´t require strange writing decisions for closing it.Purely slice of life


Anon 11/17/2019 (Sun) 23:19:44 [Preview] No.5047 del
>>4992
>I was actually enjoying MMC until the Celestia and Alicorn reveal bits
I knew about her getting wings (I joined in 2014 so I saw images of her with the wings before) and I was really disappointed in its setup.I expected something of a greater scale but nope, just songs and a random spell, so it felt more anticlimatic than controversial

>it would be really cool if there was a 4th season where it took place in this universe with the cutie marks messed up, and Twilight has to fix the world with her knowledge.
>a lot of the friendship issues has been resolved so having the world get wrecked accidentally by Twilight would re-introduce conflict.
you got it with that episode. However, not even the writers cared that much about it and a cutie mark problem is almost like filling in the blank for its resolution, considering that they haven´t been all that consistent.Like magic,I find their concept really hard to take seriously,considering that any writer will find a random plot device with them but also twisting their concept during that episode,simply because it serves for their convenience in those 22 minutes

>there's other reasons why I hate MMC
>sorry for not explaining my point better
don´t worry
and I can see that hate. It stacked up interesting elements and connected them in a really awkward manner and anyone can tell that the episode could have gone through very different directions with more layers of depth or genuine logic. But it was a musical episode with an important change (not so relevant after its hype) introduced in those short 22 minutes. The writing was rushed and the staff admitted it

The Last Problem really rewards the viewer and nothing that appears there comes out of nowhere. It´s built up from what we have seen and following a much less confusing formula. MMC tried to be really big and it felt disjointed while The Last Problem went into a simple direction for a really rewarding ending.


Anon 11/17/2019 (Sun) 23:32:13 [Preview] No.5048 del
>>5014
>They turned your show into Teen Titians Go!
eh, I don´t care all that much. We´ll see how it goes but for now, fans know how to make that artstyle better than the promos. Gen 4 is over and ended up in October, we closed the book a month ago. Only the comics could bring something interesting occasionally based on the show but as for the main canon, the 4th gen rollercoaster isn´t working anymore, not even for Equestria Girls.

This is quite possibly a spin off to fill a toyline for Hasbro, milking the franchise until it runs dry. It´s a toy commercial at its core but damn, it felt really good to have one of a great quality like Friendship is Magic.

Really sad to see the capitalist interests prime more than the spirit but eh, the standards set for that are really low. I am not creating any dramas towards it because the big deal is over. It hasn´t aired yet but I know what to expect from how it looks.

I am aiming more at the comics for now or how the development might go for gen 5. Besides, MLP had a really terrible period before FiM: gen 3.5. Those times were truly dark even for a little girls cartoon.

>Unironic POLS for thoughts on the final I want to post later
well, that can be interesting to read.

>>5040
>Though my expectations are at the highest it may have some interesting elements but still feel kind of bland/strange to at the lowest it being something that is utterly irredeemable and soulless. I'm wouldn't mind being surprised but I place my bets it being somewhere between those two.
basically this.


Anon 11/18/2019 (Mon) 11:44:28 [Preview] No.5050 del
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>>5001
>Wow, you've been here a bit longer than I thought. Cool.
It's a very good thread. I loved reading the reviews here after watching an episode. I'll probably save some of them to go along with future viewings of the show's later seasons.
>>5045
>I am going to be honest, I didn´t expect (even though it´s on the nature of /endpone/) reading those words from your part in the first posts here
I guess I didn't really think about that. Mainly I was feeling a lot of emotion from the episode still and wanted to share that in some way. I didn't really think too much about how it was some of my first posts here since I was used to posting on 8chan's /pone/, and to some extent on /mlp/ and ponychan. I don't have anyone who I can talk to about MLP, so I guess I just talked about how it affected me personally here. I certainly wouldn't have wanted to post about it on /mlp/, and I liked this thread, so I suppose that's why.
>And let me tell you, having one or two good ones is much more valuable than having a gang of 10 people in the long run
I only ever had 1 or 2 good friends to begin with, and spending time with more than 2 people at once is something I have difficulty navigating, and in such situations I typically find that I am silent and withdrawn. I think that the issue for me was that the 3 friends I used to have were all people I'd met because our parents knew each other and we'd spent time together since we were toddlers.
>>5046
>fan pandering is hard to explain. I will try to answer it in my own way.
You've written a very good response on fan-pandering. I was familiar with it, I was just using the word itself to refer to something else entirely, that is when parts of the episodes feel dumbed down for the younger audience.
>>5047
>you got it with that episode
Sorry for miscommunicating again, what I meant to say was it would be great to have an arc, like a season, from the plot of that episode rather than just cramming it into one episode.
>MMC tried to be really big and it felt disjointed while The Last Problem went into a simple direction for a really rewarding ending.
I think this summarises it perfectly.
I hope I didn't get anything wrong or use the wrong tone, I don't want to ruin the thead.


Anon 11/19/2019 (Tue) 09:37:28 [Preview] No.5051 del
>>5050
>It's a very good thread. I loved reading the reviews here after watching an episode. I'll probably save some of them to go along with future viewings of the show's later seasons.
Wow, that's is probably the highest compliment one can give here. I'm glad someone else has found our reviews and chit chat meaningful. Whether it's by factoring our judgements or just finding the thread comfy.

>. I didn't really think too much about how it was some of my first posts here since I was used to posting on 8chan's /pone/, and to some extent on /mlp/ and ponychan.
Hey, a hint of the personal is part of what caused this board to last, so you weren't making a mistake in reflecting a little here.

> and in such situations I typically find that I am silent and withdrawn. I think that the issue for me was that the 3 friends I used to have were all people I'd met because our parents knew each other and we'd spent time together since we were toddlers.
Those bounds would be hard to simply replace. Ouch. Yeah, though it is to different circumstances as I have said I really feel ya here.

>I hope I didn't get anything wrong or use the wrong tone, I don't want to ruin the thead.
I'd say if you were shitposting about X without really offering any arguments, that be ruining the thread. Now? You are merely commenting some on the side and expressing a bit of your own thoughts. You sound almost how we felt back when this first started. There was a bit of fear and I remember being fearful of accidentally being misunderstood so I'd often write clarification. A fear of derailing the train off the tracks. Understandable as you both don't want to poison the well of what I guess would be described as a mix of a lounge of idle chitchat yet sometimes serious discussion and debate while also feeling unsure of messing up the vibe of what is mostly a correspondence of two anons. You haven't, though...

>I don't have anyone who I can talk to about MLP
If you feel like you'd be breaking a taboo here in this thread. I'd like to formally invite ya to the next thread I am planing to make devoted to post FiM run discussion thread where any and all episodes and such could be discussed scattershot. At the very least I'd be posting random reviews of random episodes after rewatches, and at most deep diving as try to categorize every magical feat in the show and develop a full model of canon


Anon 11/19/2019 (Tue) 09:41:13 [Preview] No.5052 del
something has alas has come up, so PoLS for now...


Anon 11/19/2019 (Tue) 23:15:29 [Preview] No.5053 del
>>5050
>I was feeling a lot of emotion from the episode still and wanted to share that in some way. I didn't really think too much about how it was some of my first posts here since I was used to posting on 8chan's /pone/, and to some extent on /mlp/ and ponychan.
wow, so you have exposed yourself before adapting your way of shitposting in those boards,...I am certainly speechless. I don´t know how to reply to this but it seems that this thread has pulled that trigger inside you for that review.

>I don't have anyone who I can talk to about MLP, so I guess I just talked about how it affected me personally here. I certainly wouldn't have wanted to post about it on /mlp/, and I liked this thread, so I suppose that's why.
/mlp/´s discussion thread for the episodes only last one single day, so if you miss that Saturday, then it´s done, the discussion is not located anywhere except between the shitposts, forcing yourself to find any place to discuss something. The discussion for the leaked episodes have had a more laid back tone here because we agreed to do the complete opposite of /mlp/: instead of rushing the thoughts like /mlp/ did with the leaks in August (watching the episodes once and never coming back), the board decided to discuss them at its own pace, hence why I haven´t posted mine about the finale yet (waiting for Bridgefag´s thoughts to come first). Not to mention that we have other ideas, projects or other things in our lives.

The tone feels calmer because no one needs this board nor it will become relevant for the fanbase,it´s an alternate project and we could come back to /mlp/ at anytime without any problem if it actually ends for whatever reason. You must have felt that as I read from your post.

>spending time with more than 2 people at once is something I have difficulty navigating, and in such situations I typically find that I am silent and withdrawn.
are you me? really? Because I have felt that way especially in my childhood and teenage years. These days I can handle this aspect better but still have effects of that behavior sometimes. If you are describing me, you are nailing it blindly.

>I think that the issue for me was that the 3 friends I used to have were all people I'd met because our parents knew each other and we'd spent time together since we were toddlers.
uff, you were used to having an inner circle among you three, implying that you might not have had interactions from outsiders or close connections to people out of your comfort zone. It´s no wonder that the slap that you would receive in the future would hurt more, most likely because of that mismatch. Now I get your context and I can see where that comes from (to an extent). Hopefully you recover from that lack of experience.

>You've written a very good response on fan-pandering. I was familiar with it
yeah and I´ve said that before in other posts. I could mentioned better examples or a better explanation but the concept of fan pandering is about as confusing as other aspects for the show. It´s not easy to figure out a consistent answer, keeping in mind that its concept is as dynamic as the weather for tomorrow. What could be fan pandering to you might be a disservice for others and without replying in relative terms,that´s my answer towards it. For gen 5 or future content,that vision can change though.


Anon 11/19/2019 (Tue) 23:21:10 [Preview] No.5054 del
>>5050
>I was just using the word itself to refer to something else entirely, that is when parts of the episodes feel dumbed down for the younger audience.
hhmmmmmm you are implying that the kids have been keeping up with the series when they could have seen no longer as trendy after 2015. I might need examples to discuss this but for the most part, I have seen pretty mature material for a series of this kind.For example, I am implying that you might be talking about Pinkie Pie by going utterly obnoxious or emotional or something dumb like AJ and Rainbow Dash arguing in Non Compete Clause. I know where you are trying to go with it but it´s something too unspecific to discuss without any clear target on the topic.

>I meant to say was it would be great to have an arc, like a season, from the plot of that episode rather than just cramming it into one episode.
ah so it was that. I agree with that, it felt completely underwhelming in general. It could have been a really special two parter like Larson wanted originally but those plans were for ending the series. So that wish from yours (and also mine) also collapses with a context of actually ending the series or continuing it. In hindsight,if we knew that it was staying for more years, it could have taken that interesting path and season 3 wouldn´t have ended up as a questionable period that is placed in the lowest position when one ranks the seasons.

>I don't want to ruin the thead.
your posts ruining this thread? Oh boy, what should we feel if spammers left shitposts all over the place? Get a heart attack?
M8, your posts can be perfectly integrated and become a part of it when you bring something worthy to discuss. In fact, I didn´t plan to compare The Last Problem with MMC (before watching the finale again) and I wouldn´t have mentioned it during my review. But now that I have that comparison in mind, I have collected a different perspective before approaching my thoughts towards it.

>>5051
>I'm glad someone else has found our reviews and chit chat meaningful. Whether it's by factoring our judgements or just finding the thread comfy.
same. Although one has to keep the hooves on the earth because this is done without further expectations. This thread is simply about two people consistently giving their thoughts on the episodes. It simply happens that the thread has lasted much longer than /mlp/ ones and this one can afford to have much more time coming up with the personal thoughts. Also, the length of these posts are twice as longer than the replies for /mlp/. That helps.

>a hint of the personal is part of what caused this board to last, so you weren't making a mistake in reflecting a little here.
I know why it´s risky to do that but after seeing the ice broken with the personal thread and other confessions posted from the two or three main users, it seems easier to put that mindset in practice, the comfy ambient encourages it.

>if you were shitposting about X without really offering any arguments, that be ruining the thread.
this.


Anon 11/19/2019 (Tue) 23:31:13 [Preview] No.5055 del
>>5051
>You sound almost how we felt back when this first started. There was a bit of fear and I remember being fearful of accidentally being misunderstood so I'd often write clarification.
clarifying things might sound redundant but when there is a chance to interpret the lines in an intended direction... it helps much more than one can imagine.

>I'd like to formally invite ya to the next thread I am planing to make devoted to post FiM run discussion thread where any and all episodes and such could be discussed scattershot. At the very least I'd be posting random reviews of random episodes after rewatches, and at most deep diving as try to categorize every magical feat in the show and develop a full model of canon
well, yeah another thread for a gen 4 discussion in hindsight can be made so the episodes that one wants to discuss become the spotlight or at least, carry the topic to a certain degree of impact.

I can´t promise if it will have more activity than this or not, but an option to have in the catalog for anyone to use it, it makes sense and I agree with that idea.


Anon 11/21/2019 (Thu) 20:10:01 [Preview] No.5057 del
Well, I have finally watched the finale+epilogue again and taking into account how long Bridgefag´s review is, I am commenting on these episodes based on his reflections and adding a little bit more from my part. Let´s see if I decide to post a full personal commentary in the end though.

So, here it comes: The Ending of the End (S9, E24+E25)

>>4893
>Discord was behind this the whole time?
yes and the first time that has also walked that far in a millennia (quite an achievement considering how accustomed he was at using his power for teleporting himself).

>At first I did not know how this made me feel.
who wouldn´t get confused after watching it for the first time? I had thought for a moment that Grogar was replaced for Discord because of the bell...turns out that the old chaotic draconequus has made a foolish move here.

>It was interesting because I saw a lot who liked everything else otherwise find this particular aspect somewhat questionable. Freaky enough around when Friemies premiered I saw someone suggest this as a theory but I immediately disregarded it as one of those crack pot fan theories.
>I dropped out of most speculation when the leak happened. I'd say it's understandable, as, minus the tiniest hint or two this came completely out of nowhere for most of us and our brains struggled to wrap around it.
well, I would have never thought of that at the time that it aired. But for some reason while walking in the street, I had a spontaneous thought in my mind that Grogar´s beard looked a lot like Discord´s. I should have taken that thought more seriously and raise my suspicions on that visual similarity (probably the most logical argument that one can establish this theory before this finale). Either way, it was really easy to dismiss that theory considering how much of a chess move is. However, MLP surprises fans of all ages and considering an episode like Twilight´s Seven that has aired in this season, I don´t find this plot twist all that outlandish. In fact, I take it as a reward for the long time viewer. If anyone complained about FiM being predictable, this should have shut a lot of mouths out there.

Probably that smile coming from him in the last scene of The Summer Setback could be a subtle gesture (and you had asked yourself if he was planning something else): >>4602

>I'd say I actually quite like this plot twist, and not for a stupid surface level "because I didn't see it coming!" reason. I think this fits much better with Discord's nature than some would first think. Discord is chaos.
yeah I agree. Others might find this controversial but I think that this move pushes the boundaries and takes a step further for the show´s standards. I wanted entertainment and I had no idea what to expect so I was pleasantly surprised at how far the series can go from a technical level of writing. I expected Grogar´s stealing the show as the final boss and becoming the impossible creature to redeem. I was partially correct in this conclusion...but it was wrongly raised, because he was redeemed 6 seasons ago.


Anon 11/21/2019 (Thu) 20:19:24 [Preview] No.5058 del
>>4893
>If he was so powerful, why was he so inactive in certain major plots and easily nerfed by Chrysalis' thrown? If he was so weak, than why did he seem like he was manipulating things behind the scenes at times and was brought back by Celestia to fight Tirek? This season finally made a choice and actually brought a pattern here that makes some sense. Discord underestimating and being outright dismissive of his foes is how he has been defeated before by Celestia and Luna, the Mane6 and Tirek.
I wouldn´t have considered that approach on his behavior but yeah, his theoretically questionable actions are established by a pattern in his mind. It has been repeated a few times in the series and that flaw (yet characteristic) has become as apparent as his decisions in Twilight´s Kingdom and the S2 and S4 premieres.

I will say one thing about his (original) purpose in the show just to add something here: Larson had said Discord´s main purpose was to make Twilight´s life more annoying or even impossible, becoming a huge troll whose entertainment is how Twilight can surpass his challenges and chaotic magic. He gradually lessens this regard of getting the situation out of hand over time when he interacts with other characters (Fluttershy,Spike,Big Mac...) but even when one thinks that his moves won´t have any grand scale consequences, he puts Twilight into a final test. Even if that test was well intended for guaranteeing that Twilight is a good ruler for Equestria, his flaw (even though it was perfected except for that bell they could reach) made things much worse than expected.

>This defeat doesn't feel like an arbitrary plot hole or Discord acting uncharacteristically stupid so much as a flaw he has had from the very start where he thinks he is in control only to find himself taken out by some unforeseen magical force that he discounted do to his arrogance and forgetting that he is still can be valuable to such forces.What better way for a Spirit of chaos than to lose control of his own chaotic plan? Arguably, it makes his chaotic nature stronger because chaos itself can't be controlled.
which is ironic because he should have been pretending all this time that even this unexpected problem was going to happen according to his plans. Although it makes sense to believe that because he says this: "You don´t get to do the final test in the first day of class" so it was bound to happen that Twilight would have received a little "prize" from him for this coronation.

>it fits with season 4 when many thought that he was helping Twilight Sparkle grow and learn in his own twisted way with Tirek (speaking of that, this season fits season 4 in several ways.I'm not saying you couldn't draw a line of criticism toward it, but it just fits in so many ways that are previously established. Regardless if it was intentional or not it, Discord this season actually felt woven together as oppose to having a new set of info that just makes it more confusing for us to figure out.
yeah, I thought about that finale as well because it follows almost the same formula, only that there weren´t any songs here.

>I can understand those who wanted Grogar to be his own big deal, but I actually think this was the better option. They would have had to give him his own motivation and backstory, setting him up in the final which would have cut from the main cast and probably robbed us from om good moments.
we would have needed extra time for that and things would have been different for dealing that theoretical villain.


Anon 11/21/2019 (Thu) 23:06:14 [Preview] No.5059 del
>>4894
>I am onto the topic of the true three main villains. Our expectations were subverted. Was it a good subversion though? That is where I am slightly mixed.
I might have considered that mixed reaction at first, in the sense that it might look like the villains were raised this time by pushing the reset button but I am not all that convinced of it being a low point for the episode. My biggest issue with this episode is this line that you have said that this feels like Hollywood. However, not because of the plot twist but because the plot itself is nothing new and certainly falls into a cliché of famous superhero movies. Like I said with the premiere, I don´t know if my mind has changed but ironically enough, the context behind the action was the most generic part of it. The finale didn´t feel as fresh as other ones even though I appreciate that they had to go through that route for making it epic. Why do I disagree here with you in the villains aspect?

>let's use friendship to destroy Equestria for all it was built up wasn't really brought fully into the picture in the final. It was just the reason they were working together. It was an element that was introduced only to trick us and in The Ending of The End, they just acted like generic evil for the sake of being evil villains for the most part.
ironically enough, you have answered by yourself my reply. Sure you can sense that it was written as generic ones like Hollywood does all the time but here is the catch, they failed because they didn´t put Grogar´s words into practice. Before testing Discord´s magic locked in the bell, Cozy Glow tried to encourage both Chrysalis and Tirek say positive things at each other...and it mostly failed.
The reason why they failed in their plans was because they claimed the power individually as soon as they got it, potentially betraying at each other if Equestria fell into their ownership. This is repeated several times in the finale (Cozy Glow becoming a superpowerful alicorn or almost using the bell just when Chrysalis and Tirek were looking at the prisoners, Chrysalis repeating the word "I" and "my" in scenes like the Windigos´ problem...) and this pays off with two odds for them: Dolores getting out of the cage (releasing everyone else there) and the unexpected Windigos having ridiculous ancient powers that cannot be overlooked.

They failed not only because of their physical defeat but also because they didn´t actually do this together as Grogar told them to do.

>It feels like the Hollywood version of subversion/plot twist: "See we implied it was this the whole time but it's really not!" It feels like their was potential for something more here with this dynamic they set up.
the dynamic is there, just that when the power is so easy to obtain, those who are obsessed with it become even blinder. They were together because of beating Twilight in an attempted coup but the differences outweigh the resemblances when their objective isn´t there. Grogar´s base served as a sample of what they would do without her. Just that their power was the standard one but as soon as they taste it, it´s prone to have more than a simple discussion between them.


Anon 11/21/2019 (Thu) 23:09:01 [Preview] No.5060 del
>>4894
>It was a dynamic partly explored in the season 8 final and it felt clever but could use some more work. There could have been a much more interesting personal conflict other than Twilight losing hope do to the situation being dim from sheer power of villeins and having no elements of harmony.
eeeyup, this is probably the lowest point in terms of writing here. We have seen that helplessness several times (the movie, Twilight´s Kingdom, Friendship Is Magic...) and the closest thing for getting a different ending with those setups was Shadow Play actually. This is where the plot falls into the same situations that we all know and one doesn´t need to predict its resolution.It´s become almost an inherent tradition. I do like a lot of parts that have happened during the action scenes despite using the same motivations though.

>More of an ideological or philosophical bend to it, like TS having doubts on what friendship is if it can be used for evil or something that I think would be easier to set up with what we had: Cozy Glow, Crystalis and Tirek having discovered the bounds of friendship but still being an evil threat that needs to be naturalized. Even if they couldn't go that far it felt like there could have been a little bit more.
you will have to see that in the comics (Swift Foot in the latest issue) or with other villains whose high stakes aren´t actually that high.Nonetheless,I cannot deny your good suggestion in this concept. The counterargument that I can find to your idea is that they made it clear that they only wanted to be better villains while they were singing their song in Frenemies.

>it does feel pretty reasonable that they formed a somewhat shaky alliance and it really did not go much beyond that.
they didn´t obey Grogar´s advice, they rebelled against him and his discourse.It seems that the little light they saw in Frenemies was ruined as soon as they perceived a huge power level in Grogar´s bell, much more after obtaining Discord´s powers (also the royal sisters´in the second part).

>I think too there is a point to be made with the nature of the fact that this was the final itself. They were going to try to squeeze as much in as possible. Would exploring such a theme draw too much time away from the main cast? This is the stronger line.
this is important as well. How would you write a finale of this kind with spicy elements such as powerful villains (including a "new" one) and making it as grand as possible without rushing the pacing too much? This could also apply to that conflict between the pony races, we would need extra time or deleted scenes in a DVD or a director´s cut in order to stack up everything at the expense of not airing in the time constraints. The finale was a huge deal and despite being my main complaint that this sort of falls into a generic motivation for Twilight, I understand why one would pick the safest option here.

>Anywhere to just have a giant battle and tons of fanservice in a checklist style format the final is probably the most justified. Putting too much of an overarching theme could've messed that intention up and this choice may not be best to view as a screw up on the writers but a conscious choice on the writers to do it like this. This is why I say I am only slightly conflicted. T
eeeeyup, basically this.

>hey still fit in some interesting stuff with the trio (Chrissy vs Dolores, Tirek's father). Even if it's a thematic element that I think should have been explored better I'm not sure how critical I can be on it
they put it genuinely so it´s a sign that they were aware of more potential than the one established. But again, this is like the map, they stopped expanding it after the 8th season and strengthen what´s been established instead of going further and beyond.


Anon 11/21/2019 (Thu) 23:42:34 [Preview] No.5061 del
>>4895
>Were they justified in turning them to stone? Yes. Each one of them was still a threat and they had previously tried to deal with before. I think this was directly done do to how so many fans hated how everypony was getting redeemed left and right and I think it's 100% fitting for Tirek and 80% fitting for Crissy (because a redeemed Chrissy would certainly be interesting and have a lot to work with with how much hatred she holds and how long she has been a foe)
especially those who didn´t want Chrysalis redeemed because they wouldn´t stand her changedling design, losing all the appeal for her fans (some promised to flip the table if the staff did that). Her destiny wasn´t only written because of the writers (keep in mind that the writers were somewhat lost at what to do with her for a while) so even if canonically it´s less justified than Tirek, the fans didn´t want that route so I suppose it counts as a form of fanservice here.

I won´t deny that the redemption route could have been interesting for her character but when her hypothetical design and its implications become more relevant for the consumers, then turning her into stone surely looks like a minor problem for their standards. Those who complain at the writers for turning her into a statue should have argued back in 2016 to her fans, not crying now all over it on Twitter or Derpibooru.

If someone wants to point when this all started and how her redemption rejected among the fans, you should look at this little fella (and his transformation) in pic related (who ironically got a couple of lines in the finale).

>Cozy Glow is still a bit of a moral question but I think that goes back to season 8 when they locked her up in tartarus. They could have had her reject friendship and redemption better in season 8 or a another momenet in season 9.
I would buy it to a very low percentage during season 8 but after seeing the finale, no fu*yay*ing way. Again, there are other villains for taking the route that you are thinking about but I am completely confident that Cozy Glow doesn´t fall into that category.

>They were fully justified in taking out a rough alicorn in that moment though.
oh thanks because there is no doubt about it at that point.

>We never really knew how she became evil and her full backstory and if these had been explored better we have better perspective and it would have felt more satisfying rather than the big question marks left over our heads with her.

>the incomplete exploration of the character and her ideology have caused some even so far as to view her as a martyr to a subverted truth on Equestria friendship is magic, but magic is power
we might never know it and if the show went into that route, guess what you obtain from there? Dolores,Tempest and Trixie. Despite not knowing her context, there is one but important difference from the rest here: when she is given the chance to explain her action in School Raze, she outright rejects it consciously and proudly of her getting into the Tantabus. This means that even if we could find a personal motivation that could justify that messed up mindset, she wouldn´t facilitate it at all, answering to herself that she has no problems at all in that topic. That problem cannot be deployed to the table so one could point out the root of it. Either that or the writers didn´t think of this part for her purpose as a character.


Anon 11/21/2019 (Thu) 23:58:12 [Preview] No.5062 del
>>4894
>>4895
so if you wanted to have a villain with some redeemable features, exploring a bit their backstory....if Dolores, Tempest or Trixie weren´t enough, take a look at this one and her recently released comic arc because while the finale might not be what you desired from the legion of Doom, you surely sound more you want to explore towards the direction of pic related. Nor sure if it has the best execution to offer but I suppose she serves as a references of what you are asking from own thoughts.

Anyway, I have a few more posts to reply from your review but I haven´t overlooked at anything from your reflections so far. I am leaving it right here tonight.


Anon 11/22/2019 (Fri) 00:00:12 [Preview] No.5063 del
>>5062
well, I am starting to type incorrectly and that surely shows in this one.

Anyway, have a good night /endpone/. Take care.


Anon 11/22/2019 (Fri) 23:33:56 [Preview] No.5064 del
>>4900
>Twilight Sparkle's storyline in this felt pretty cookie cutter. Not her ascension so much as the beats that were hit; we saw all of this in the season premiere. A hopeless situation, the fall/destruction of Canterlot, Twilight Sparkle freaking out. The Ending of The End in many ways just feels like a more epic version of The Beginning of The End, and both share a lot with season 4's final as well, along with to a lesser extent the premiere of that season (we don't have the elements now!).
and as I have said before, this my major complaint with the episode that I can extract out of it. It´s quite logical to take it but it doesn´t take a lot risks because it has been established before. The biggest I can be quite snide here because...are you describing the movie or season 4´s finale? Because Tirek didn´t blow up Canterlot in that finale yet Tempest conquered Canterlot in less than 5 minutes.

>while I have yet to fully judge the elements of harmony being taken out of the picture and Twilight facing reality on her own twice only to have rainbow friendship magic come save them at the end. It is something that I can draw critical lines at yet almost smile in amusement that it happened twice. I will say this though: if you'd ask me anywhere large amounts of fan service and a bonkers turn your brain off and just watch the homages and call backs, it is the final of FiM.
the lack of the elements doesn´t bother me at all. In fact, more than service that moral of friendship being the actual power and acknowledging that the elements were simply tools to expose it with more clarity for a certain period is what has made Twilight´s discourse stronger and so, setting up the final climax properly. Honestly,I appreciate that they didn´t go through an outlandish route at beating them and those who helped the mane 6 were characters that interacted with her and learned a few lessons as well.

>>5033
>I could go on a tangent on so many things! Positive, negative, theories etc. It just feels like I could run so long with this that I'm not sure where to start. I've decided just to make what could turn out to be a pretty rambling finish to this review and move on.
yeah, I am applying that idea as well, reviewing it as if it was like any other because otherwise, we would never end with this. I had asked myself how I would comment on this yet all that I reflect in the end are a combination of both spontaneous yet down to earth answers that I can offer while posting.


Anon 11/23/2019 (Sat) 00:07:53 [Preview] No.5065 del
>>5034
>my overall critical feel for this at this time is that it did nearly everything it had to do as a final, at a possible expense at a better written story.
sounds like a very good summary for it. It was serviceable, entertaining and rewarded the long time fan with references thrown over the course of the episode. It doesn´t reach that perfection nor innovation that one could ask for but one cannot have everything when the legacy of this series is in a critical point to judge in hindsight.

>Hasbro has final say on everything in the show, even if they are somewhat liberal with it they have intervened at various times, sometimes strangely (a recent QnA by big jim (I think) said that Hasbro was the one who said Diamond Tara's story was through, which seems strange). This is not a total defense of the crew conduct or to say that all of their writing mistakes are 100% just Hasbro meddling, but it's a factor that prevents me from blaming simply one person for something that I find questionable at least easily.
that´s a complicated question to deal with. Sure, /mlp/ or part of the fanbase could go really rampant towards Jim but he´s simply a visible face of the crew. One cannot shoot the messenger despite supervising the show and yeah, reading that answer about Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon was certainly surprising. It explains why they were left completely aside after the 5th season all of a sudden yet for some reason, Snails and Snips, while being almost irrelevant in the past, get the green light instead.

Either Hasbro decided that because of marketing reasons and there were other priorities or they were aware of the writing process and said that her arc wouldn´t pan out that well by going deeper into them. I don´t know and one could wait a very long time for getting an answer and the reasons behind this decision.

>even with above in mind, it seems like the last three seasons before Season 9 were setting up each for something long term then have to put it aside for something else.
FiM has managed to be consistent enough for evolving and moving forward but they followed a very fine line that as soon as they moved it a little bit, things could fall apart at any moment or needed more time to be fixed. It´s not only that but it´s a mix of trying to appeal an adult fanbase while placing a new product or two out there. There are a lot of drafts behind this process and gen 4 in reality, considering its confusing nature.....was an undefined series after all. You won´t see this all that often and the only guaranteed thing that you can expect from it are...more pony content. Now with gen 5, they have a clearer way to find a successful method but if Larson had to rewrite MMC back in season 3 for example, let alone the writers with a line that they crossed long ago yet have to find a meaningful new territory as if nothing happened.

So yeah, it´s understandable to believe that the series could have gone through very different paths and even hinted them a bit yet were completely overwritten for what aired next. It´s quite possible that the writers felt as clueless as the fans at some point.


Anon 11/23/2019 (Sat) 00:13:24 [Preview] No.5066 del
>>5034
>Dolores being the new character that the audience can relate to and does the adventuring in Season 6, yet her roll gradually got downgraded. Season 7 introduced a big lore set up and had the most cohesive and connected plot with some attempt to tie into the comics and such better, yet in Season 8, we have a school, in Season 9, the school is partly sidelined.
yeah, it feels like they get the spotlight for being fresh but as soon as they aren´t trendy for the series, it jumps onto something else. The comics or chapter books take a break from that practice and show you that they have potential. But keep in mind one thing, the show was like writing a Bible, all the basics. If it goes wrong in its core, then almost anything will come with that flaw. The complementary material doesn´t feel as risky because it doesn´t reach the establishment for more canon elements yet they show was the main product for everything else. I read somewhere that Confalone felt much better writing for EQG specials because the freedom for that material was insane in comparison to the process behind a FIM episode (so one could guess that there is more pressure at writing the main material).

>I think the blame gets scattered pretty far around and not all the story adjustments were handled poorly (Dolores's role reduction probably being the smoothest)
they simply did what they felt like doing in that way. I am not all that bothered as long as the episodes delivered can stand on their own. The potential choices that they could have taken...yeah, one could get a lot of disappointments if someone expected the show for what it isn´t.

>This episode had to be the end to all of it and try to include as many call backs to the mess of the story while focusing primary on the main core of characters. They had numerous callbacks, fit the school in, had Crissy fight Dolores, and even brought back the pillars for a bit part while having the story still primary centered on the mane6. Looking at it on an episode level I think they did what they needed to do.
and they didn´t do a bad job at all honestly. I am quite impressed that have been capable to combine everything naturally and integrate them as one single unit. That merit should hailed and worthy of my respect. They have managed to connect them and give them their time to shine a little bit in it.

I mean, look at pic related. They have achieved to set up an Avengers End Game scene with all of them here. Relying on the same formula sometimes brings a change or two: from a Dragon Ball Z laser beam mode to a full Marvel Universe in one single finale. Those who wanted action in MLP,anything else will feel all downhill from here because man, that was pure fanservice.


Anon 11/23/2019 (Sat) 00:40:09 [Preview] No.5067 del
>>5035
>I think a lot of what I have as a problem is more of stuff that should've been handled before this ep. I'm still a bit split on Cozy and the whole subversion of friendship, a lot of potential yet apparently they didn't even have a backstory for her, which just seems nuts to me considering how interesting of a concept she represented.
again if you are still split with Cozy, I can post the Feats of Friendship arc just for you and see if that´s what you wanted for her to end with another pony that shares a lot of similarities in the circumstances. I will go further with this in the comic thread if you want but I have downloaded the issues tonight, just in case .

>Is that the episode's fault though?
short answer: nope
slightly longer answer: it isn´t considering that the season was built up with a pretty calm ambient for its own ending. The arc wasn´t as tense nor promised something in the long term for it that could go beyond these villains. In fact, considering that Discord had controlled them for all this season, these three felt more like a challenge rather than an unexpected big deal that adds up more lore or world building.

>it's perhaps something that should have been thought of long before.
yeah. For taking a vastly different direction, we would have needed more showtime to justify it and make assumptions before getting the cherry on top of it. However, for this one the cherry was the actual cake and there weren´t any more lore layers to check out.

>Another factor that is perhaps a stronger line of criticism is the season opener, which feels way too similar to this final.Perhaps even a more desperate situation than what they had faced here as Sombra actually was going around imposing mass mind control while here the populace for the most part still retained their anatomy and actually factored in the end. But is that something that I hold against the episode?
I do hold it and this is the main reason why I cannot consider this finale as perfect even though it is superb at what it delivers in its established formula. This is more of a personal taste here. In the premiere, what bored me was the action while here, the action was really entertaining yet the direction behind it was so....by the book. As if the formula was there written and the writers only had to put the numbers in order to get the intended answer. I understand that lack of experimentation but I cannot avoid my criticism of this part.

>I can hold the fact that Twilight becoming demoralized and going off on her own only to be encouraged by her friends has been done.
>I could muster a partial line of defense involving the fact that this is a very very scary situation and this is the moment that makes the most sense for Twily to be demoralized. Perhaps some writing on this end could be better but I'd say that this should be here and the opener should've been written a bit differently instead.
perhaps it was because it´s her trait and what you would expect from her. But yeah, they had really impossible situations before and overcame them like nothing. Even worse, she fell in desperation far from home (also destroyed), without anyone familiar (at the time) to help her in the movie. But again, it´s that needed momentum that one needs for taking the necessary steps, getting more morale and confidence as soon as you see that you are not alone.

>See what I mean? Spent hours thinking on this. I almost want to say it's flawed yet almost perfect
it is and I agree on that as well. It was competently well made but I cannot give it the perfect rating despite getting tons of fun while watching it.


Anon 11/23/2019 (Sat) 01:16:24 [Preview] No.5068 del
>>5036
>I loved Pinkie Pie controlling Discord's chaos magic. It was a fun moment with perhaps a bit of implications.
implications like pic related,right?

>I remember especially in the earlier days they tried to mostly explain away Pinkie's seemingly odd abilities. Cartoon gags were just that. She just hid things around ponyvile, etc. Yet even in Season 1 we were presented with an ability that was shown to have no explanation and Pinkie's cartoon gags had become increasingly acknowledged in plot.
>I'd say that Pinkie having something more than just beyond jokes was already pretty close to canon early on and has become almost certainly canon with time. Could Pinkie controlling Discord's magic after having established how hard and dangerous this was be them saying that Pinkie has a bit of chaos magic? I'd say it's possible, as in you wouldn't be just running into headcanon territory.
you have answered yourself and yeah, if we take the comics a little bit into consideration... I would say that your comment sounds legit. It was an odd ability and it seems that the "Don´t question Pinkie Pie" has become like her surprising ability rather than her behavior for being random. Equestria could say thanks that Fluttershy was under Discord´s radar....because if he had in mind joining in with Pinkie, ""interesting"" events would have happened to this timeline.

>one must remember that magic has been usually pretty inconsistent, especially in later seasons.
ufff, that aspect is certainly a taboo for me to deal with. Not a taboo in its means of fear but more like, I am feeling too lazy at establishing a proper solid theory to defend and hopefully, keep some sort of logic in all the generation. It does have some consistency at times but it´s ripped away and the hypothesis is broken as soon as the convenience for a random episode sacrifices its logic so the plot feels justified. Celestia suffered this hype in this topic and thankfully, she was left aside from this discussion of power levels in the end because goddamn, finding the logic behind magic in this franchise is worthy of a doctorate.

>we have Cozy Glow being able to perfectly control magic as an alicorn in this same episode. It's strange to try to rationalize with how much trouble Twilight had with the massive boon of magic is season 4 final.
>I could see some half decent attempts, but ultimately this was given just to give Cozy a boost to up her level of threat with the other villains.
look it´s so fucked up that I have to go for the writing process instead. Those struggles that Twilight had were meant to develop her character and take out a situation or two that would lead to meaningful interactions among her friends, not to mention that she could have been seen as a mary sue (and even without it, /mlp/ claimed that for a while) if we take into account that she is the main character of the series. Cozy Glow´s increase in the power level isn´t seen as anything relevant for changing the interactions among the villains.

I cannot reply this by taking the magic logic. I simply can´t offer a down to earth answer for this observation.

>I'd really like to try to study the magic in the show because even if logic took a back seat at times they still tried to put implications for rules and there have been somethings that they have been weirdly consistent on (or so that I can recall) like with Teleportation and some strangeness I've noticed with the Alicorns that I'll hopefully get onto later.
Have a good luck understanding it. No seriously, without being snide at all, I admire that someone attempts to understand it completely. That topic isn´t made for me nor I see that it gravitates around a margin of tolerance in its own logic. As I say, good luck with it but I don´t believe that this series is made to compete with ultra defined basic RPG elements like Dungeons and Dragons or games like Final Fantasy.

>It was nice for them to fit little bits devoted to such things as 10 seconnds flat and Cherry Chimmychonnga or however you spell that...
oh yeah, that was nice.


Anon 11/23/2019 (Sat) 01:37:23 [Preview] No.5069 del
>>5039
>I found the dynamic interesting with all the races separating.
yeah and that setup surely fit for bringing back the Windigos, just like the story of Heart´s Warming Eve back in season 2. Reality surpasses fictional stories and this finale sure was clever at reincarnating it to this timeline.

>I remember that being a comon head canon early on where each of the races lived separately and just interacted/visited each other (Unicorns in Canterlot, Pegisi in Cloudsdale and Earth Ponies in POnyville). It strange after seeing all the stuff contradicting it to see a dynamic like that happen on screen.
considering the huge amount of friendship lessons that were spread out, I suppose that some reactions never change and prove that ponies still hold that racism. And one would say that it is towards the other species but it is among themselves as well. However, as soon as they gained a little bit of morale, that mindset was removed.

>it almost feels wrong as, from a real world logic perspective, there would be those who'd still be completely tied to there communities.
this proves that only Ponyville is the closest case of finding harmony between them. Again, this show was supposed to be a pinkish world that is free of problems and it seems like it accomplishes all the ingredients for it....yet as soon as you dig a little bit deeper, there´s a lot of messed up stuff behind its innocent cover. Who would have guessed that ponies actually don´t get along all that well despite getting the proper education to avoid it and not even the entire continent applies it?

>But even from the logic of the show you'd think some of the ones who were family would've stayed (we did see Sugarmac) but I wouldn't think Bon Bon and Lyra would have split either.
and where do they come from? Eeeeyup, Ponyville.The homeland of harmony....because thanks to the mane 6, they solidified this aspect more than anywhere else.

>This also sets up an interesting thought for other mixed families. Aw well, while there could've been a bit of more of nuance, they probably would've had the time to do more than a thrown away line or implication. Moderately irksome.
it´s a really flawed concept in their society that has a lot of potential to exploit and put more plot devices around the topic.

However, who were the exceptions to this rule, not only between derivative characteristics like a horn or a couple of wings, but having completely different bodies? Pic related. It sounds ironic that a few young students who are polar opposites on the surface get along with themselves better than ponies whose differences aren´t all that wide in comparison? An interesting topic to think about to say the least.

>Did they do a good job with the set up? They at least had this implication with how the unicorns turned quickly at Crissy's suggestion that it was beneath them back in ep 17. There could have been more but it's I can find reasonable happening mostly offscreen with other plot points they had to tend to.
>We have some tiny background elements brought up more than once and actually somewhat matter (Like the fragments of chrissy's thrown) and others that seem slightly askew or DOA (What was the magic tree house for!?!?! Holo-Twi had a cameo...). It's honestly in the middle as I wouldn't call it awful but it isn't as smooth of an integration as Season 4 or 7.
again, only two episodes+ the finale were dedicated to the villains, there´s not much time for showing everything and you are correct that the sudden change of logic feels weird but I suppose that it happened off screen so the ambient would bring more momentum to the climax and more motivations for bringing the action and a plot device to reunite, in the end, all of Equestria for one single reason: picking Twilight´s side so they would reestablish the order.


Anon 11/23/2019 (Sat) 02:03:49 [Preview] No.5070 del
>>5069
>who were the exceptions to this rule, not only between derivative characteristics like a horn or a couple of wings, but having completely different bodies? Pic related.
and not only them because those fillies who were giving the discourse to the unicorns and pegasi...I might not have paid attention to the background but it seems that they actually paid attention to Twilight´s lessons at some point (I don´t know if they appeared in the school though)


>>5037
>Donut Joe's... that last scene calling back all the way to season 1's final.
The Best Night Ever. How many things have happened since then yet the episode acknowledged that such a little scene could actually take a break from everything. Not because the night was awful like it happened the first time, but more like a relief, only with the mane 6 in peace, as if time literally stopped for a moment.

Really charming yet it haunts me how meaningful a little scene can get a greater lasting power than it was originally intended for.

>this does have it for me, perhaps even bigger than the Last Problem (though it maybe in part because of that episode). It just calls back to a time when things were simpler for the show.I'm at a loss as to what to say here impart because from here on out my emotions go into a wild divergence in what is some of the strongest ambivalence I've ever felt.
those who have taken the full experience, riding on the ride all the time, it serves as a transitional point for The Last Problem. As soon as action ends, the feeling start with a really heavy weaponry that could crush more than a few fans out there.

>It just feels like that small simple world is shattered in a way. I don't like this scene, yet I love that it was here. I've been trying trying to split my emotion and see if there are any rational criticisms that I can muster and I can't. It's a beautiful scene.
it is and you have worded it better than me. I am absolutely amazed how such an irrelevant place that no one would have placed a bet on it, being forgotten since then, can become like an arrow hitting at your heart. It´s almost like a friend that you never knew that it was there.


Anon 11/23/2019 (Sat) 02:04:37 [Preview] No.5071 del
>>5037
>I'm not sure even if it's the scene itself that actually makes me so emotional with it. Part of it is from the obvious acknowledgment the show is ending though. There is a certain... pain with it all, but I'm not sure how to put it. Like I'm not sure it's the fact that it's ending on how it ended.
>It's really strange as I feel a completeness and almost satisfaction as well there to and I do not what anypony to think my thoughts are purely negative. Maybe it's better to say that I love this scene but I don't enjoy it. Oh by the way, that scene is also my favorite scene... I just can't stand watching it!
it´s a real highlight in my eyes. Along with Grogar´s plot twist, this one was absolutely clever and the most unpredictable one to witness. Nobody counted on it yet how is it possible to feel all that much for a mundane place like this one? I suppose that after visiting all the world and putting it to a huge compromise, such a small compromising place like Donut Joe´s causes a huge contrast that impacts way more than it would normally do. All the implications that are carried and stuck in that place, the timeless factor is what brings to a fan to think about the long gone past while going back to the origins.

It can really bring a lot of emotions to the fans and this is why one should avoid watching this if that person is all that invested into the show. It rewards the loyal fan and the prize for it....are the nostalgic feelings brought from the past to this last scene in the two parter.

Thankfully it didn´t catch me in a depressive period but this and the Last Problem could have worked as fuel for it. This is why I tried to avoid thinking about it too much by replying here really late at night. It can really bring lots of sadness whenever puts genuine thoughts on it.

>7.5/10 This rating seems low doesn't it? Keep in mind that 7 for means satisfactory. It's just a compromise. This is based on the quality mixed with my enjoyment yet in ways I adore this. I've wanted to give as high as an 8.7 to as low as a 6.
>I've thought through several times and sometimes have radically different feel for things.
well, that´s fair. You´ve exposed your reasons for it and anyone can understand why you have arrived at this rating while also acknowledging your own confusions towards it. Facing a challenge like reviewing a final of a show you have invested so much time isn´t as easy as it sounds.


Anon 11/23/2019 (Sat) 02:15:50 [Preview] No.5072 del
phew lad, I have managed to reply everything that was posted in your review. It felt shorter (in terms of time) than I expected but I guess that not thinking too much about it certainly helped at going all for it.

I could have posted further thoughts that I could add for more replies related to this episode but I believe that I have given enough answers to your reflections for now.

I am leaving this right here tonight.


Anon 11/23/2019 (Sat) 06:02:11 [Preview] No.5075 del
>>5072
You more than have. With the added hurled of non native English speaker I think one is probably a bit tired. Take a rest.


Anon 11/24/2019 (Sun) 01:00:38 [Preview] No.5076 del
>>5075
well, after writing a lot of posts in this board, one gets used to the habit real quick.

The biggest problem with that factor is that it takes up a little bit more of time than a native one. As long as all the points are dealt properly and readable for the users, the other aspects become secondary.

Even without approaching all the points that I could have exposed here, the length delivered is absurd this would explain why I was feeling somewhat apathetic before you posted everything. I perfectly knew that this would happen.

And of course, I am leaving a PoLS.Understandably so because the thread has ended up too packed to even continue rampantly with The Last Problem.


Anon 11/29/2019 (Fri) 21:32:39 [Preview] No.5117 del
(530.55 KB 1200x1500 925144.png)
okay, before I post on anything else....I would like to say a few words here because I have butterflies in my mind that I cannot get rid of them...

so,with all my respects, let me post this first and then, I´ll see if I get to the other replies


Anon 11/29/2019 (Fri) 21:48:49 [Preview] No.5118 del
The Last Problem and personal conclusions under anonymity of the 4th generation of MLP (2010-2019).

So, we have arrived at the the last station that this train can reach, it cannot go any further canonically speaking after October 12th of 2019. I suppose that a meaningful review should come from my words towards this episode...

but honestly, this episode concludes and compiles every character that Twilight and the mane 6 have encountered in all these years for Twilight´s celebration. Comparing it to Magical Mystery Cure, one can notice that this plot device doesn´t come up because of destiny nor outlandish motivations for setting it up. Everything was foreseen and it carried a problem: the celebration was an utter disaster....and that was totally fine because otherwise this generation wouldn´t have found any have found that charm of finding new problems to deal with (while also delivering a few moments of comedy). Every day is a challenge even when you expect that everything is tied.

Not to mention that the moral delivered here leaned towards a proper message of moving on but also, seeing your loved ones every now and then despite the routine and advancing professionally in your life. Luster Dawn implied for a while that their friendships were broken because of messing up that event but the mane 6 have faced way worse and after all, you cannot expect perfection even though the attempts for it are really appreciated.

Then we have a song that compiles shows what the rest of the characters are doing after a few years of Twilight´s coronation, especially focusing on Ponyville, the original place that (almost) started it all.

And the book closes the cycle, meaning that there will be no more canon events that the show can offer. It shows a final image of how much these characters have grown and look how Luster Dawn is looking for her own path after waving goodbye to Twilight in the sunset.

I haven´t written anything extraordinary here and there are emotional comments in this thread that express the feelings way more than this....


Anon 11/29/2019 (Fri) 22:13:53 [Preview] No.5119 del
But I have left a pretty cold review here, right? How are these words meant to express my appreciation towards a show that pushed me to move forward and a reason to stay here?

Well, first, you´ve got to ask yourselves: is MLP really that worthy to be remembered? What is the legacy that will leave after a few years or decades (if anyone cares at all by that point)? is this series worthy material for qualifying it as the series of the decade?

My answer is: NO. Not at all.

Despite all my appreciation and admiration towards it in the past, I´ve got to be critical here: this series (or franchise) was doomed from the start. None of us need this and the message that delivers here is nothing new nor needed for the human beings. It won´t help us to advance but end up as a cartoon for kids with morals that one should have learned in their childhoods.

How can a series of a cheesy world and a cheesy vision be taken as anything serious for the critical crowd? It cannot reach that state of respect, not to mention that the target has always remained the same as well as its spirit: a cheesy pinkish toy commercial aimed at little girls (between the 5 to 9 years old).

Thinking that this series will matter in the future for any outsider that hasn´t cared by this point is somewhat delusional. After all, the stigma has stayed there and the /mlp/ users were right: this was only driven by "autism",obviously not in the sense of the disease but meant to imply that all this time dedicated to this series is a waste of time and only an idiot would even dare to take it so seriously like this community has done for all this decade.

This lack of knowledge, this form of fanatism that has lead to several dramas, this awkward situation to explain to justify the actions and attention for this series, the shame and cringe that has been delivered (especially in the early years: 2010-14)....would anyone say that these events are worthy to be proud of?

One could imagine that in the future, this compilation of events could be remembered in the future as one of the lowest standards that society has arrived, because of silly spontaneous impulses and the pretentious feelings that a fan believes that takes part in a meaningful movement that could make history.....and most likely for the wrong reasons unfortunately...


Again, does this generation deserve to be remembered? Do you want this to happen and remind the future children an anecdotal shitshow? Do you?

...


Anon 11/29/2019 (Fri) 22:30:53 [Preview] No.5120 del
...

but in hindsight,everything was beautiful and nothing hurt.
What do I mean here?

This generation doesn´t deserve to be remembered as simply the cringy community that wasted its own free time for this series.

At first, everyone would be really scared to admit that liking or having a passion towards this series would imply that one has to act in a retarded way all the time which clearly isn´t the case here.

MLP has always had that stigma of its aim, its innocence, its seemingly carefree spirit, a cheesy paradise that one would point at for anything that would come up to any mind as the maximum of those premises. It has remained in that state for more than 2 decades...

until 2010 happened. But where does this series shine?
Definitely not because of any appeal in any generic matter. Friendship Is Magic hasn´t done anything new at all nor will be put as a reference for almost anything in terms of action, writing, morals nor visuals.

In the action regard, it´s scarce and the anime fills this spot with much more frequency at appealing to their consumers. In terms of writing, the writers always change and it doesn´t encapsulate one vision in specific. In terms of morals, it gets inspiration from Disney and about 95% of the existent tropes or formula and the visuals are really simplistic and could have been executed with more expensive techniques or a complex artstyle.

Almost anything that I have said here sounds harsh, pessimistic and it doesn´t sound that I should praise this. Because I could sum up Friendship is Magic with two adjectives and leave it at there.

FiM is: FLAWED AND UNDEFINED


Anon 11/29/2019 (Fri) 22:46:10 [Preview] No.5121 del
It doesn´t stand out at anything in particular...and that´s absolutely fine because that´s where it shines the most.

Its vagueness, its uncertainty, its eclectic spirit, its capability to adapt itself for any new challenge...it overcomes that problem with such an ease yet one doesn´t know what could come next. And there you have one of the main lessons that one extracts from The Last Problem.

FiM cannot become the cringy series that appealed to idiots. One has to focus on the context behind it and this is where you begin to appreciate it genuinely.

The 4th generation has stayed undefined because at first, it was planned to have 65 episodes and end in the 3rd season. This series and even its creator admitted that it wasn´t supposed to reach this far. However, it was a lightning in a bottle. It appeared in an era back when the internet was sort of fresh but other communities were settled into it, an era in which memes didn´t grow stale and the transition of material for geeks was becoming normal for the rest of the world (especially in terms of videogames). Cartoons started strong in the 2000s but as the decade went on, the scarcity of good material from the main networks was really noticeable.

Perhaps, the most unique thing that this series can represent in hindsight is:the unexpected situations and the fanbase.

Well, the sad thing is that FiM is not responsible nor guilty for the context of existing back in those first 3 years. I have mentioned that this series doesn´t offer anything new and that these morals should have been learned back when we were all children. But Disney was proven right: adults are only grown up children...

What I mean here is that we should have seen this material before, we should have acknowledged lessons of this kind back in the day but it seems that their consumers have desired to look for more of it.

Friendship is Magic is a movement of its time, not a cartoon. Why?


Anon 11/29/2019 (Fri) 23:06:59 [Preview] No.5122 del
Well, the internet era has decided to abandon the written content to an exponent of lutheranism: learning from visuals and images and not by words. This premise exemplifies the existence of fandoms that take the base content, learn from it, embracing its content and then, dedicating their free time at going further with it. MLP arrived at a time when these communities existed and were already established. How did this fanbase even manage to happen and become a reality? We all know the story.

FiM did (almost) anything new in terms of traditional entertainment for the masses but we have to look at things in perspective: it showed well established standards, a world worthy for a RPG game, characters that over time become more unique and almost seems like they are living in their own world at a real time (ending up almost like a fictional Coronation Street). But also, that innocent "cheesy" part inherent to its name wasn´t all that cheesy in the end and their morals were digging deeper layers than the superficial ones that one would expect from species of this kind. The rainbows arise....as well as the problems and questionable choices in a theoretical pinkish world that we would dream of but isn´t all that perfect. This by itself, the constant problems, interactions, comical moments, the humble down to earth spirit, etc; has helped a lot to make a connection with the consumers. Nonetheless, the first appealing thing that makes everything possible is the simple yet so effective artstyle. Easy to draw, then it becomes easy to draw content of it as well. This explains the explosive amount of content that has surpassed almost any other popular fictional franchise that anyone can point out.

This show exemplifies its time, mixing its innocent optimistic yet undefined motifs (postmodernism) with traditional values that collide with a sense of realism.

So,one could say that it could be remembered as a show that has taken over the internet and showed the path for people who didn´t know better at that time and lead the internet to explode and gravitate around its appearance. It´s a show that has marked and defined the internet without having the intentions to reach that far. This phenomena should have not happened at all yet it did because any fan that has any interest towards it would say: "I like it, I want more of this".

And...


Anon 11/29/2019 (Fri) 23:32:32 [Preview] No.5123 del
... the show didn´t know what to do, hence my description of being undefined. How can you handle such a big wild audience that doesn´t actually know what it asks yet FiM has to deliver more of its own? All of this while taking it into account that those consumers were taking it too seriously for what it was.

This is where the show doesn´t simply becomes a simplistic entertainment but has to add more merits on its own. FiM got a voice in this decade because its fans were willing to listen to it after seeing how good it looked for them. That sense of serious business was transmitted to the show itself. One can notice the progression (yet organic) over the course of the seasons that the "fun" brought to this world didn´t come out of nowhere.

FiM has received a chance that didn´t expect but had the obligation to become your fictional companionship over the years,growing at the same time that you do, becoming a part of you and asking to you that you shouldn´t leave it behind. It managed to grow up, change without removing its core spirit and, teaching a lesson or two? But to whom? Not only for the little girls but to those who care about it in general, becoming like a loyal partner that has a message to deliver while also getting an almost infinite variety of situations and problems. It went from a problem of picking a friend for the Gala (The Ticket Master) to giving an optimistic take yet implied situation of actual divorces that happen in real life (Surf and Or Turf). That´s a stretch. The positiveness has stayed there but the standards have changed for its own self. It has embraced its conditions and broken barriers that weren´t meant to be applied to that world, yet it went further than those established limits. There is actually a tomorrow, something happens next.

The vagueness at pretending to go somewhere but doesn´t know where it should go exactly...is part of its charm. I said that it almost didn´t invent anything but this isn´t true. It managed to interact with its consumers and in the end, encouraging them openly to write their stories freely. There isn´t a wrong way to fantasize about them and I have exposed the other moral for The Last Problem: it closes the book of its ride....but the show tells that you have the freedom to do absolutely anything for writing the next one. As flawed as it might be, the show has gone through imperfect situations and this was proven with the finale. The coronation ended up as they didn´t expect....but that also applies to the show as well and your story and experiences with. I haven´t seen such a free will lesson of that kind despite knowing how messy it can get. Because this experience was shared with the others but it was also personal, as if this show represented a friend that you never knew it was there before having a slight interest in it despite its girlish looks that other people truly fear.

And I admire that. FiM has used that unique opportunity to give you a lesson, not for those children but also to those who want a relief and an undefined exciting experience. The 4th has been seen as an endless ride that has ended and one of the reasons why it might not be of any interest for outsiders is that they have sadly missed it. Those who have lived it will remember it fondly but those who didn´t have missed part of a weird crazy experience that one cannot regret at all.


Anon 11/29/2019 (Fri) 23:55:38 [Preview] No.5124 del
FiM won´t be put as the best series nor cartoon of the decade. My knowledge is way too limited and I realize that I haven´t consumed almost any other TV show from this decade for drawing comparisons. However, I can safely say this without any fear:

https://www.cartoonbrew.com/ideas-commentary/the-end-of-the-creator-driven-era-29614.html
When Amid Amidi wrote this article, it sparked the explosion of interest towards this show, looking for the laughs in its atrocity. However, we have found something else. While it´s true that Lauren Faust abandoned the project in 2011, the show managed to accomplish a very different thing. Nowadays, the article should have been named:

The end of the cheaply written toy commercials era in TV animation

Eeeeyup, Friendship is Magic won´t be remembered as the best cartoon or series of this decade because of its eclectic highly stigmatized spirit. Nonetheless, it has ruined the previous generations of MLP because of its quality that is bound to become more timeless than the rest because there was more effort put into this generation and that shows. Only by telling that it went from 65 episodes to more than 200, a spinoff, a movie and its entrance in the comic world, you can notice easily how well adjusted it was.

Not only it has ruined its own toy commercial spirit, having to justify its quality in order to sell merchandise to children, it has has ALSO RUINED (yes, ruined) any other toy commercial that can air in the future on the TV.

As soon as any series has the purpose to aim at little children only for selling toys to them in order to get away with its poor quality of writing and substance found its animation, any critic could come and point at Friendship is Magic as a reference for judging toy commercials.This means that the public will ask for quality as soon as anything cheap of this kind appears in the future. Those cheap animations cannot afford to apply that tactic and justifying the possible atrocities that could taken advantage of. Friendship is Magic has turned out to be an example of how far a toy commercial can get, how successful and relevant can become if one doesn´t aim so low all the time, getting something to say and explore out of its comfort zone.

The 4th gen has received praise because it has surprised everyone out there, so it cannot be written in the history of animation (if it does) as a laughable product. It managed to establish a world and its characters, expand itself and beyond over the course of the seasons, mature and looking at its own past, and close the book before overstaying its welcome. Again, this is worthy of my admiration.


Anon 11/30/2019 (Sat) 00:16:40 [Preview] No.5125 del
So, I´ve wanted to look pessimistic because it hasn´t removed all that stigma as for the current year but I must say that outsiders won´t get surprised at all if MLP appeals to old fans in a future generation. It has settled really valuable standards that can range lots of layers: from pure innocence to an unexploited depth (but has all the elements for that direction).

I won´t say that the fanbase stands out for being a worthy example to mention out there even though it has an exclusive appeal: it takes everything too seriously. And honestly,that brings a lot of fun. I cannot count how many times I have laughed along with the dramas or Youtube comments that get typed as soon as ponies appear randomly in the media. It still applies to this day and it also shows the insecurities that human beings have.I wonder if MLP has become a product of social engineering, not because of its content but more towards the looks of it and how superficial people judge it without knowing the deal.

Anyway, back to the reality. The Last Problem has fully accepted what FiM has become and has left a little smile towards the uncertain future. The show by itself was undefined and here we are. I would like to imply that Twilight has been reading the 4th gen book all this time and other future events happen after reading it.

The Last Problem might not make the cut for the best episode of the series but it is definitely a real highlight for this final season. A beautiful yet really simple story that we have seen. Perhaps the most emotional moments are brought by those finale notes of the intro in the last song and Twilight fearing of the future, possibly leaving her friends behind after all they have done together. But they aren´t only supported by themselves but also all the characters and species that we have known in the past. This book has canonized every single one of them for the mere fact of existing in this world.

This episode might cause a depression and not help at all to those who don´t control their emotions. Despite its comedy and ordinary spirit at messing up, those who have been invested in this generation, will truly feel personal connections of leaving this gen behind as well. Many stories from the fans can be sprung because of reaching this last chapter, the fortunate achievement of having lived the entirety of this experience.


Anon 11/30/2019 (Sat) 00:30:23 [Preview] No.5126 del
https://youtube.com/watch?v=w7xGA2EZ1Z8 [Embed]

Now, I don´t like goodbyes. I don´t know with certainty how to end this with words so I will link a little hymn to celebrate it in my own way...

It feels like I have woken up from a dream and now, that dream is over despite not leaving its after-effects.

What else can I say? We are here, not all the fans have gone through the entirety of it (rest in peace to those who didn´t make it) and all in all, it has been a pleasure to be "autistic" enough to have an entertainment that no other franchise could have delivered, maybe not to the world itself, but to me and a few more who genuinely cherish it.High fives to you.

The 4th gen ride of MLP has finally ended, folks. Long live the 4th gen!


So long Friendship is Magic, so long...


Anon 11/30/2019 (Sat) 06:12:02 [Preview] No.5127 del
(1.88 MB 2195x1561 1802218.png)
>>5118
My feelings on the Last Problem was more on the Last Problem itself and less so on the end of FiM, which I have compartmentalized as categories. I actually had a shortened review semi-typed. 2 to 3 posts. You post this raw burst of emotion... I think you put yours better than my burst of raw emotion earilier.

>>5119
>Well, first, you´ve got to ask yourselves: is MLP really that worthy to be remembered? What is the legacy that will leave after a few years or decades (if anyone cares at all by that point)? is this series worthy material for qualifying it as the series of the decade?
I'm not sure if the in total view of the show reflects your's in later posts or is completely opposed to it. It be too long to go into detail now. I will say this, FiM right now has no peers in my eyes to be judged against. It is it's own odd place. Not that it makes it better or worse, just different to the point of an apple's to oranges to me.

>>5120
FLAWED AND UNDEFINED
Yet what you go into with this point could be pretty similar to the point above.

>>5124
This is a very interesting take. Perhaps an elite one. I've seen various discus the show on it's own and sometimes including our fandom in various peer groups (one thing I have noticed is that a lot of people will say modern animation fandom, lower tier furry fandoms (sonic and near human animals), etc, but a lot of those groups see us an outgroup... something that probably be studied in /go/) but this is the show's direct legacy in the category it is in . I think this is a point worth exploring. I have much more to say to your replies, but...

>>5126
>Now, I don´t like goodbyes. I don´t know with certainty how to end this with words so I will link a little hymn to celebrate it in my own way...
That song is too melancholy to listen too do to news on my end right now IRL. This retrospective you have written derives a much longer reply than I can give at the moment.

I salute you L23 God bless and don't feel any pressure to reply right now.


Anon 11/30/2019 (Sat) 08:17:24 [Preview] No.5130 del
>>5123
Reread everything and now its what you say here that I think stands out the most.


Anon 12/01/2019 (Sun) 23:04:59 [Preview] No.5134 del
>>5127
I didn´t expect that picture to show up. That´s really appreciated.

>My feelings on the Last Problem was more on the Last Problem itself and less so on the end of FiM, which I have compartmentalized as categories
yeah, I imagine what kind of review you may have prepared but before getting into your replies, I had a few thoughts floating in my mind that weren´t about the episode itself yet I had to connect them with it (so mixing the lessons from it with the reflections would feel more organic) and I feared that I would forget them because of other things.

>I actually had a shortened review semi-typed. 2 to 3 posts.
you can post it either way, this exercise was more like talking to myself loudly. Well, most of my posts here are like that but it´s been a while since...

>You post this raw burst of emotion... I think you put yours better than my burst of raw emotion earilier.
the personal thread and I am a real idiot for doing that and pretending that any of this matters. Being a clueless youngster is what it takes, showing a naked vision again. You know, reading the 2nd perspective of your verses >>5109 made me realize that the flaw of that narrator has always been there latent in my mind.

>I'm not sure if the in total view of the show reflects your's in later posts or is completely opposed to it.
it is opposed to it. The entirety of >>5119 and the review were intended to show coldness and pessimism to what would come later. The indifferent review and that post are meant to prevent myself from calling it the best cartoon of the decade, cutting the wings for those who wish it gained such title. So the standards cannot aim that high and one has to look at the show with a more down to earth league according to its nature. Those questions are meant to remove any slice of fanatism or delusional influence for this world.

>FiM right now has no peers in my eyes to be judged against. It is it's own odd place.
yeah, it is. That aspect and its own circumstances make it harder to judge and jump onto solid conclusions for it.

>Yet what you go into with this point could be pretty similar to the point above.
now, those adjectives aren´t the opposites here. I mention these words later on my reflections and integrate them that they are the nature of this show. They only prevent it from reaching perfection. The flaws come because of situations that could lead to some dubious choices, lessons or conflicts that aren´t perfect. Its perfection comes because of feeding itself from those little imperfect holes. The show is also undefined because those little holes turn out to have some integration in it,the fanbase has proved to have a bigger influence in it than any other cartoon would have admitted, the writers have been constantly changing from one season to another, the series hid the fact that it crossed the theoretical ending line in 2013 and that Hasbro orders for toys also mark a direction in its path.

Again, those words might sound negative (understandably so) but when you think about the rollercoaster of events, it has brought more varied emotions and uniqueness than getting a perfect series from the start.


Anon 12/01/2019 (Sun) 23:22:24 [Preview] No.5135 del
>>5127
>I've seen various discus the show on its own and sometimes including our fandom in various peer groups (one thing I have noticed is that a lot of people will say modern animation fandom, lower tier furry fandoms (sonic and near human animals), etc, but a lot of those groups see us an outgroup... something that probably be studied in /go/)
neither do some fans of this fanbase want to see themselves associated with fanbases like Sonic´s one (despite the possibility of liking both separately). I think that the stigma is applied both for outsiders and those modern animation groups even though the reasons differ. The former might aim towards the girlish looks while the fandoms have that stigma because of past activity on the internet and in the conventions (avatars of ponies, flooding media with them, compilations from the early years... you can insert several reasons here)

>this is the show's direct legacy in the category it is in . I think this is a point worth exploring.
as far as it comes to its nature, the toy commercial characteristic is the clearest one for me at establishing some reasonable comments on its legacy. Toy commercials were meant to be cheap and a fast food product that attempted to justify the existence of those toys. Having such a clear popular reference in this regard like FiM, the chances to get away with this movement have been spoilt by this 4th generation (even to itself). It will be interesting to witness if it actually manages to happen in the future.

>That song is too melancholy to listen too do to news on my end right now IRL. This retrospective you have written derives a much longer reply than I can give at the moment.
and funnily enough, that song isn´t the most melancholic one from the catalog that I have. There weren´t intentions of bringing a complete sadness but more like a bittersweet humble happiness of living long enough to have seen this series end. Of course, I couldn´t bring a random one that wouldn´t mean anything but more like a similar feeling that the episode delivered.

even though what must have happened IRL doesn´t sound any good and what´s worse is that I might get an idea of it. That´s haunting and little bit inconvenient to do this from my part. Sorry if it that became more painful than it was intended for

>God bless and don't feel any pressure to reply right now.
neither do you. In fact, I still have to reply to your GCR but I think that it deserves to get a proper focus and get fully immersed with it beforehand.

>>5130
you are probably right. From >>5121 onwards,the positiveness and the central points (besides the affirmative answer of not being the best series ever at all) actually start. The tone changes and so, reading these reflections become a little bit more pleasant for anyone who has any interest in reading them.


Anon 12/01/2019 (Sun) 23:33:26 [Preview] No.5136 del
>>5127
and as you have said to me, take your time and there´s no pressure at replying this. Not everything here is meant to be replied because again, that emotional burst comes as talking to myself that you are un/fortunate to read them and you wouldn´t see these thoughts anywhere else. I wouldn´t say this nor reach this level of expressing so clearly my inner thoughts in real life even.

See you in the undefined space at the end of the universe. Take care of yourselves.


Anon 12/02/2019 (Mon) 00:52:39 [Preview] No.5137 del
>>5136
Thanks. We shall see what unfolds with the rest of stuff in terms of schedule in the coming couple of days. It is not death in the family, but a massive change that... would take awhile to explain but is still saddening


PoLS for now.


Anon 12/10/2019 (Tue) 06:32:50 [Preview] No.5164 del
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>>5050
Hi. Not sure how to word this as in a way that doesn't sound awkward, but if you happen to wander on by here again I have a question I'd like to ask you. I'm not L23 or the other guy. Just a fellow lurker and even you ar an oldfag compared to me I don't want to waste your time but there is something in your words that struck me.


Anon 12/19/2019 (Thu) 09:56:18 [Preview] No.5226 del
(1.27 MB 680x565 pony.png)
>>5164
I've still been here, I just wasn't finding the time to make full replies since I have a full job again. What was your question?


Anon 12/23/2019 (Mon) 01:04:09 [Preview] No.5239 del
>>5164
You seem really eager to ask him a question, almost strangely so. It does feel almost a little strange yet I get the feel of having a burning question for an anon you bumped into once or saw in passing when it comes to mind. I am curious on what you have to ask.

>>5226
Howdy 5050 poster! if you don't mind me calling you by what L23 has dubbed you

> I just wasn't finding the time to make full replies since I have a full job again
Yeah I can understand that, especially with how big are replies are a lot of the time. Still, you are welcome to post anytime and there is a couple of threads in th future that I think would be easier to handle should they interest you Best of luck on the job and I hope it's more a blessing than a curse.


Anon 12/27/2019 (Fri) 05:44:47 [Preview] No.5255 del
>>5226
Give me a bit. Will have to come down from a wild holiday. Think you'll still be here after new years?

>>5239
I hope I don't come across as too strange. Also, when the time comes, would it be alright if I made a seperate thread just so I don't derail this?


Anon 12/27/2019 (Fri) 06:59:19 [Preview] No.5256 del
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Anon 12/29/2019 (Sun) 06:56:50 [Preview] No.5264 del
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>>5255
>I hope I don't come across as too strange. Also, when the time comes, would it be alright if I made a seperate thread just so I don't derail this?
No problem.

>>5256
If this is a message I don't follow (cadence saw? Violation of NAP?). As a shitpost I must say you have an interesting style. For as badly drawn it is the animation is pretty smooth.


Anon 01/02/2020 (Thu) 15:37:10 [Preview] No.5283 del
>>5255
>Think you'll still be here after new years?
Well it's after new years now, so I'd say yes.


Anon 01/03/2020 (Fri) 00:10:49 [Preview] No.5287 del
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>>5283
Howdy 5050!


Anon 01/06/2020 (Mon) 23:45:34 [Preview] No.5301 del
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>>5287
Meets and greets friend
>>5053
>I don´t know how to reply to this but it seems that this thread has pulled that trigger inside you for that review.
It definitely did. The reviews in this thread reminded me of how significant the show has been in my life, and I wanted to commemorate it's end somehow. Aside from that it's just a really good thread.
>/mlp/´s discussion thread for the episodes only last one single day, so if you miss that Saturday, then it´s done, the discussion is not located anywhere except between the shitposts, forcing yourself to find any place to discuss something.
Exactly, and I'm more used to the pace of smaller *chans to boot, so keeping up with a 4chan board is hard enough without trying to post on it too.
> The discussion for the leaked episodes have had a more laid back tone here because we agreed to do the complete opposite of /mlp/: instead of rushing the thoughts like /mlp/ did with the leaks in August (watching the episodes once and never coming back), the board decided to discuss them at its own pace, hence why I haven´t posted mine about the finale yet (waiting for Bridgefag´s thoughts to come first). Not to mention that we have other ideas, projects or other things in our lives.
I think that's why it's great, even if not a huge amount of people read it like /mlp/.
>are you me? really? Because I have felt that way especially in my childhood and teenage years. These days I can handle this aspect better but still have effects of that behavior sometimes. If you are describing me, you are nailing it blindly.
Was that alienation a factor in discovering MLP for you as well?
>Hopefully you recover from that lack of experience.
It's always a bit complicated figuring out personal failings since often you're not sure you'd even be the same person without them, but thanks.
>What could be fan pandering to you might be a disservice for others and without replying in relative terms,that´s my answer towards it. For gen 5 or future content,that vision can change though.
Fan service/pandering in gen 4 was a double-edged sword, I think. On the one hand, the fans generally like it and it gives an extra layer to the humor. On the other, it smothers that original, sincere and earnest approach the show had early on when it wasn't as self-aware. Though fan-pandering in the later seasons didn't completely ruin it, I think if they want gen 5 to be good they need to ensure there's no fan-pandering this time around, however.


Anon 01/07/2020 (Tue) 22:39:53 [Preview] No.5303 del
>>5301
so you are 5050...let´s reply to it:

>It definitely did. The reviews in this thread reminded me of how significant the show has been in my life, and I wanted to commemorate it's end somehow. Aside from that it's just a really good thread.
damn, well there aren´t expectations to cause such feelings like those. Sure some posts are written with a bare mindset and heartfelt in an sporadic way, just that I didn´t imagine that someone would reach this far and trigger such feelings for others. As for the show ending, I mean, who wouldn´t commemorate it? I didn´t know how to review it and it ended up more as an appreciation for FiM in general. Watching that episode (especially when it released for the first time) was hard and it´s food for feels without being sad in its core.


>I'm more used to the pace of smaller *chans to boot, so keeping up with a 4chan board is hard enough without trying to post on it too.
well, I´ve known /mlp/ since late 2014 and I must say that they are going pretty slow relatively speaking, at a rhythm of 10k posts, your thread could fall in less than two hours in its peaks of activity. Since 2016, the generals have been very easy to keep up and bump constantly. But yeah, in terms of show discussion, it´s mostly scarce and the threads dedicated to the show are either clickbait for annoying "insert X group of anons" or any excuse to complain about it.

8kun has come back so I guess that you have that medium as well but the /8pone/ community has to notice it and make a few efforts in order to stay active again. As for this place, thanks for saying that this is a good thread but keep in mind, these reviews have only come from a Spanish person whose vocabulary isn´t all that big and a Texan, both former lurkers. No magic whatsoever nor wizardry. Sometimes, we used additional points of discussion as an excuse to talk about something different and keep ourselves entertained but that´s it. If you like that, that´s great honestly.

>I think that's why it's great, even if not a huge amount of people read it like /mlp/.
we have been discussing a few times if /endpone/ should be like /mlp/ and the conclusion was that...if you have /mlp/ and want more of /mlp/, this board wouldn´t make much sense when the average fan would go for the faster board first. We accepted our circumstances, we decided to take our time, review the episodes with the rhythm that we could follow at that time and expanding the discussion of each episode before entering into the next one.

And I don´t know who has been reading this honestly nor I set up my mind for that too much. I know that you do because you have written it here, otherwise I wouldn´t know if someone else actually did. At the end of the day, this has turned out to work more as a personal public chat than anything else, not to mention that I expect lees than nothing because at anytime, this thread (and this goes for the board in general) could have become a huge mess of shitposts or spam, but it has received a few reviews worthy to discuss or think about for a while. So yeah, that was accomplished.


Anon 01/07/2020 (Tue) 23:19:42 [Preview] No.5304 del
>>5301
>Was that alienation a factor in discovering MLP for you as well?
well, I discovered MLP because during the summer of 2014, I was bored as hell and barely any friends to meet during that month (because they were on vacation) and I was looking for the old shows or something to entertain myself with. I could have ended up watching the Pokemon anime but as there were so many episodes to watch and I knew that protagonist suffered resets in his mind, I didn´t bother. After watching a Top 10 of kids shows that adults enjoy, I was astonished to see that MLP was there and I challenged to myself to survive the 4 seasons without becoming homo nor a public mess who unironically believes in fairy tales. So it was a challenge at first and then, after the 2nd and the 4th seasons, I began to enjoy it for what it was entirely.

As for the alienation of becoming silent and awkward socially, it´s mostly that I am an introvert that gets shamed and wants to get unnoticed most of the time, or at times, I don´t have anything to say in the conversations, I don´t usually lead them, I feel tired if I have to come up for ideas spontaneously during long periods. I am more of a supportive listener even though at times, I offer long talks and speaking a lot....in this board, it shows the latter case.

Was it a reason to discover MLP? Most likely yes, considering that an introvert does have more time for himself and my tastes were aimed towards video games and a few cartoons/movies, it doesn´t sound outlandish at all to end up with this series.


Anon 01/07/2020 (Tue) 23:29:05 [Preview] No.5305 del
>>5301
>It's always a bit complicated figuring out personal failings since often you're not sure you'd even be the same person without them, but thanks.
I guess that someone takes a lesson or becomes a different person because of that kind. Anyway,you are welcome.

>Fan service/pandering in gen 4 was a double-edged sword, I think.
very. The term changes constantly and it relies on desires that supposedly come from an "homogeneous" community when their views might not be shared or all that popular during a certain period (watch out, it doesn´t always stay consistent in those wishes). So how is the show pandering to anyone? I suppose that for example, making Derpy appear on the show more times could count but, at what point does she become an integrated part of it when her appearance feels no longer special to the fans?

>On the one hand, the fans generally like it and it gives an extra layer to the humor.
well, that works for quick gags, memes or a carefree background (almost secondary) character like Derpy but a part of FiM relies on comedy so those layers, like you say, serves as that extra layer as the cherry on top of the cake.

>On the other, it smothers that original, sincere and earnest approach the show had early on when it wasn't as self-aware.
yeah, like Pinkie rapping out of nowhere or going full meta with Fame and Misfortune. It feels somewhat corrupted or out of place. It truly depends on each case and how it flows among the rest of the elements for that episode.

>Though fan-pandering in the later seasons didn't completely ruin it, I think if they want gen 5 to be good they need to ensure there's no fan-pandering this time around, however.
I don´t know. I wouldn´t discard it considering that Hasbro knows the audience who actually watches it. The fan pandering has become more subtle or...a plot device if taken further (The Perfect Pear). When you integrate that gimmick, then you expect it and I applaud the series for getting away with those risks and then, going back with the same spirit all over again. But anyway, most fan-pandering has turned around the lore, the world or the characters. Frenemies was the ultimate fan pandering that one fan of villains could wish for. Cheese Sandwich in Pinkie Pride was a fan favorite but what if he came back for a second episode? The Last Laugh becomes less special the 2nd time Weird Al gets featured and the episode has to offer something else other than his presence and so, the slice of life spirit comes back in order to justify that desire. Just like Trixie coming back in season 6.

Fan pandering always requires specific examples (I would suggest to go for specific topics and then, digging them deeper for what they are for each case) and it´s damn hard to generalize it without finding holes in the statements (my own) but yeah, I feel that seasons 8 and 9 have slowed down that trend of showing fan pandering directly to your face and more relying on subtlety for introducing it (except maybe Twilight´s Seven but even that episode advanced the Twilight´s arc), not to mention that my thoughts about these seasons (at the time) are here.


Anon 01/08/2020 (Wed) 05:56:14 [Preview] No.5307 del
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>>5301
> The reviews in this thread reminded me of how significant the show has been in my life, and I wanted to commemorate it's end somehow.
In a way that was the same for me as well (because when reviewing and comparing, it caused me to look back at how far the show came).

>Aside from that it's just a really good thread.
You know? Looking at it I agree. Keeping in mind that it is mostly a correspondence between two anons who have a limited experience in both analysis, reviewing and even grammar. A lot of ground was covered. Personal reflections, themes of the lessons, unironic lore analysis at times.

>Exactly, and I'm more used to the pace of smaller *chans to boot, so keeping up with a 4chan board is hard enough without trying to post on it too.
Me too. Though /mlp/ has slowed from it's prime, I sometimes after not visiting in a week have a hard time with keeping tabs on things well, I have become somewhat unused to IRL stuff

>Was that alienation a factor in discovering MLP for you as well?
Though this is to L23 I may relate to this in that my friend circle collapsed do to drama and FiM was the only thing running that I liked. Though saying that I just consume it is probably an understatement as I identify with it and it had an affect it played a huge part in saving certain aspects of myself that may have otherwise died in teenage/adulthood.

>Though fan-pandering in the later seasons didn't completely ruin it, I think if they want gen 5 to be good they need to ensure there's no fan-pandering this time around, however.
Depends on what you define as fan pandering. As a whole you could include any attempt to bring the show beyond it's limits as fan pandering. Some of the more complex plots and things with a slight adult edge can still maintain the tone of the show. That can be done wrong but I do not think on it's own is bad and they should aim for some hint of complexity or depth with themes. Than there is fan pandering in the sense of trying to write to the fandom's desires and expectations, this is okay in moderate dosages but when taken beyond can be feel offputting and wrong to the tone of the show. For example: The show puts in as many characters, shippings and call backs as possible that it almost feels like they aren't going with a plot as much as a checklist Slice of Life Though I did like it on it's own , Season 7's and to a lesser extent Season 6's final you could say have that feel. That I am in more agreement. Then finally there is meta jokes. I consider these to be my worst fear any franchise because a few are fun but often people get addicted to them and break immersion with snark and humor poking fun at how the plot usually works, and emotional moments. (Look the Princesses are finally helping. Friendship lasers! Bla bla bla you get it). Though MLP usually only flirted than cross the line for me. I'm in 100% agreement here in keeping that under a very tight rope.


Anon 01/08/2020 (Wed) 23:52:03 [Preview] No.5311 del
Index for the reviews and discussion posted in this thread (from-to), part 2:

The Last Laugh: >>4482 - >>4521 + >>4526 - >>4532

2,4,6 Great: >>4503 + >>4523 - >>4538

A Trivial Pursuit: >>4554 - >>4578

The Summer Sun Setback: >>4587 - >>4619

She Talks to Angel: >>4687 - >>4693

Dragon Dropped: >>4694 - >>4704

A Horse Shoe In: >>4717 - >>4728

Daring Doubt: >>4718 - >>4731

Growing Up Is Hard To Do: >>4747 - >>4775

The Big Mac Question: >>4767 - >>4790

When the finale aired (reaction): >>4801 - >>4822

The Ending of the End: >>4893 - >>4920 + >>5033 - >>5039 + >>5057 - >>5071

The Last Problem: >>4900 - >>5001 + >>5045 - >>5054 + >>5118 - >>5135

































>>4578
>>4731


Anon 01/09/2020 (Thu) 00:07:20 [Preview] No.5312 del
Index for the reviews and discussion posted in this thread (from-to), part 2 (fixed):

The Last Laugh: >>4482 - >>4521 + >>4526 - >>4532

2,4,6 Great: >>4503 + >>4523 - >>4538

A Trivial Pursuit: >>4554 - >>4578

The Summer Sun Setback: >>4587 - >>4619

She Talks to Angel: >>4687 - >>4693

Dragon Dropped: >>4694 - >>4704

A Horse Shoe In: >>4717 - >>4728

Daring Doubt: >>4718 - >>4731

Growing Up Is Hard To Do: >>4747 - >>4775

The Big Mac Question: >>4767 - >>4790

When the finale aired (reaction): >>4801 - >>4822

The Ending of the End: >>4893 - >>4920 (you) + >>5033 - >>5039 + >>5057 (you) - >>5071 (you)

The Last Problem: >>4900 - >>5001 + >>5045 (you) - >>5054 (you) + >>5118 (you) - >>5135 (you)


Anon 01/09/2020 (Thu) 00:14:29 [Preview] No.5313 del
there we go, I had a little problem with the 2nd list but it´s got the presentation that I wanted.

Making an index for this thread is somewhat stupid but considering that this thread is reaching the bump limit and Endchan has no archives whatsoever , I wanted to leave everything clear for those who want to check what has been discussed over here, so this index would make things a little bit easier.

However, this thread was defined during the past decade, so this means that we are closing this book as well...


Anon 01/10/2020 (Fri) 23:43:18 [Preview] No.5322 del
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>>5305
>yeah, like Pinkie rapping out of nowhere or going full meta with Fame and Misfortune. It feels somewhat corrupted or out of place. It truly depends on each case and how it flows among the rest of the elements for that episode.
Exactly. Though it may be wishful thinking to hope for a show to retain it's original style and feel over time, if the writers were less self-aware of the work they're contributing to and the way it's audience perceives it, you end up with something that, in my opinion, is a bit more immersive. The early show wasn't devoid of references and 4th wall breaking, but I think part of the original charm was that it was free to be it's own thing since nobody tended to pay much heed or mind to the earlier generations of the franchise, and as such it had essentially no expectations to live up to and no real fanbase to try and please. Again not to say that what came after was bad. I may be repeating things that have been said by others before a bit.
>>5307
>Keeping in mind that it is mostly a correspondence between two anons who have a limited experience in both analysis, reviewing and even grammar. A lot of ground was covered. Personal reflections, themes of the lessons, unironic lore analysis at times.
It's got more thought put into it than the vast majority of fan analysis, moreso I think since there's pretty much nobody else around to impress or split into factions, leaving just genuine love for the show.
>>5313
I've got the text of it all at least. We could set up a pastebin or something to preserve it.


Anon 01/11/2020 (Sat) 00:28:19 [Preview] No.5324 del
>>5322
>Though it may be wishful thinking to hope for a show to retain it's original style and feel over time
completely wishful thinking. Would the show even continue if it didn´t have that level of popularity back in the day? You can take that con as a curse of changing the time but keep in mind that the post s3 content might have been a bonus that shouldn´t have happened yet it did. Don´t simply stay with one side of that coin.

>if the writers were less self-aware of the work they're contributing to and the way it's audience perceives it, you end up with something that, in my opinion, is a bit more immersive.
well, this line is harder to discuss but I suppose that the immersion came because of a spirit that was originally intended from the ones who started the creation but over time, the newest writers don´t feel that original charm because they weren´t all that close to it. In fact, I am surprised that there hasn´t been a seasonal rot because of this lack of knowledge and original passion.

There have been immersive situations and free of "meme material" in the latest seasons as well but those events don´t simply happen around Ponyville all the time like those first years because of adding layers to the show that weren´t planned at all.

>The early show wasn't devoid of references and 4th wall breaking
tell that to Pinkie Pie, the most shining example of that. The show wasn´t free of those practices because even Faust was overwhelmed and noticed the huge unexpected reception that she got with FiM. This event by itself could lead them to change their minds at some point and change the aim somewhere else.

>I think part of the original charm was that it was free to be it's own thing since nobody tended to pay much heed or mind to the earlier generations of the franchise, and as such it had essentially no expectations to live up to and no real fanbase to try and please.
like any newborn creation, free of filth or corruption that stays innocent. I suppose that these are the reasons why /mlp/ (for the most part) praises the old seasons: comfyness and lack of contact with the real world. I understand why you have these thoughts. However, nothing stays pure forever, you are going to be influenced and change that innocent nature for something else sooner or later. /mlp/ spends a lot of time at discussing how comfy the early seasons were but I see no one appreciating its growth and adaptability to mature along with the fans. Reaching the top of its game is a hard task....but it´s EVEN harder to keep that level over the years by adding new layers or experimentation to its back.

>Again not to say that what came after was bad. I may be repeating things that have been said by others before a bit.
well, the cyclical discussions come and go. I repeat myself a lot of times as well but I suppose that...one true sign of revealing who you are discussing with (even by having Anon in the forefront) is by noticing the consistent opinions delivered over time.


Anon 01/11/2020 (Sat) 00:39:24 [Preview] No.5325 del
>>5322
>It's got more thought put into it than the vast majority of fan analysis, moreso I think since there's pretty much nobody else around to impress or split into factions, leaving just genuine love for the show.
eeeyup, you´ve nailed the reasons why this has happened: no one is watching and so, you have no one to impress. Besides, I´ve already impressed /mlp/ in the past with the digits, why should I impress anyone with the reviews in an alt chan? It´s stupid.

>I've got the text of it all at least. We could set up a pastebin or something to preserve it.
well, look at that. I have a task to assign to you and it´s exactly what you have mentioned here. I think that Bridgefag did that before but considering that he is focused on other things right now, I lend this setup to you.


Anon 01/14/2020 (Tue) 06:51:37 [Preview] No.5333 del
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>>5322
>Exactly. Though it may be wishful thinking to hope for a show to retain it's original style and feel over time, if the writers were less self-aware of the work they're contributing to and the way it's audience perceives it, you end up with something that, in my opinion, is a bit more immersive.
Agreed.

>moreso I think since there's pretty much nobody else around to impress or split into factions, leaving just genuine love for the show.
/)

>I've got the text of it all at least. We could set up a pastebin or something to preserve it.
Thanks 5050. Remember, you are 100% welcome and invited to postgen4general. I know you feel a bit awkward with disrupting us here but honestly you were another one on the ride of this thread with us, just for the most part silent. Besides, if you've know us since 2018 you've almost an oldfag by /endpone/ sortlifespan if not one. I know that IRL stuff can get in the way and you may not get to post as often but I do hope you stick around. I have really enjoyed talking to ya and wouldn't mind you posting along with us.

Also, this posts serves as a PoLS. I've been pretty busy with stuff. The good news is a lot of it is /pone/ related.


Anon 01/16/2020 (Thu) 16:04:41 [Preview] No.5335 del
>>5324
>In fact, I am surprised that there hasn´t been a seasonal rot because of this lack of knowledge and original passion.
I think that can be somewhat attributed to quite a well thought-out show bible, as well as Hasbro realizing that this generation was getting a better reputation than previous ones.
>/mlp/ spends a lot of time at discussing how comfy the early seasons were but I see no one appreciating its growth and adaptability to mature along with the fans.
That's true, but nostalgia is such a powerful sentiment that it often submerges the idea of anything new being good. I still think the show went slightly in the wrong direction, but it made the best out of it anyway, and did a really good job of it to boot.
>>5325
https://pastebin.com/0GRsGtC1
part 1
https://pastebin.com/P3u0FzWc
part 2
As I say I have all the text so I can reformat it any way we want at a later point. I was also toying with the idea of saving all the images posted in the thread.
>>5333
>Thanks 5050. Remember, you are 100% welcome and invited to postgen4general. I know you feel a bit awkward with disrupting us here but honestly you were another one on the ride of this thread with us, just for the most part silent.
Thanks! If it turns out that I stick around for all of the next generation, I'll be a little surprised, but I definitely want to see at least the beginning of what they do next, good or bad.


Anon 01/16/2020 (Thu) 22:44:36 [Preview] No.5336 del
>>5335
>I think that can be somewhat attributed to quite a well thought-out show bible, as well as Hasbro realizing that this generation was getting a better reputation than previous ones.
yeah, a strong base really helps at anytime. I wish that Hasbro didn´t only realize that this gen gets a better reputation. They could apply that for gen 5 in one go and milk much more money and reputation, that trend shouldn´t simply die with gen 4 alone but...eh, we´ll see if the corporate heads actually care about that reputation over the years...

>but nostalgia is such a powerful sentiment that it often submerges the idea of anything new being good.
considering that I have seen endless discussions of gen wars among Pokemon fans, that exercise comes as nothing new to my eyes. It reaffirms that we are doomed to repeat the same cycles and steps like everything else. Wait a couple of years until they get nostalgic about the latest seasons...

>I still think the show went slightly in the wrong direction, but it made the best out of it anyway, and did a really good job of it to boot.
it cannot please everyone I guess and I didn´t like all the episodes but I was surprised by the amount of quality put after such a long lifetime and even surpass a few older seasons at times. It ended up nicely (which is why I am relieved with gen 4 overall) and can stand on its own so from there, the subjective views can vary in diverse ways.
The only clear conclusion that I have towards the show is that season 3 was the worst because of its rushed nature but as for the rest, I could like almost the rest of the seasons indifferently according to the coffee that I take each morning....so yeah, that´s a good sign.

>I was also toying with the idea of saving all the images posted in the thread.
nicely done. About toying with the inclusion of the images, what´s preventing you from doing it? Go for it if you want.

>I definitely want to see at least the beginning of what they do next, good or bad.
well, get ready for the rollercoaster of a thing called Pony Life. Then gen 5 is like the biggest mystery for us now. It can be anything really despite the leaked content.

>If it turns out that I stick around for all of the next generation, I'll be a little surprised
we are all surprised really. Whenever you want, you know that you have an option over here. For now, this thread has reached the bump limit so...anything else will be discussed over there.

>>5333
>The good news is a lot of it is /pone/ related
those trips confirm it


Anon 01/19/2020 (Sun) 06:24:57 [Preview] No.5346 del
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>>5335
> I still think the show went slightly in the wrong direction, but it made the best out of it anyway, and did a really good job of it to boot.
For me I think of it as wrong dynamics but not necessarily wrong episodes. Like, Dolores, she really wasn't a bad character but it put Twilight Sparkle in a weird place of being in the middle of being a retired teacher yet still being the protagonist for Season 6 and in Season 7 being slightly dialed back to Season 8 and 9 where she becomes a side character that fits a bit better but only because of other clutter Yet I say that I still enjoy the episodes themselves for the most part.

>I was also toying with the idea of saving all the images posted in the thread.
Thanks! and can you show me if you figure out something better than my attempts of just downloading the webpage.

>If it turns out that I stick around for all of the next generation, I'll be a little surprised, but I definitely want to see at least the beginning of what they do next, good or bad.
That is understandable. Though I could see some value in it myself just comparing it to the old series, that could still feel hallow (especially if it's just a large hatedom). Still, as I said, stop by once in awhile if ya have the time maybe a couple of things that could interest you coming in awhile. or if you just wanna chat, that's fine too.


Anon 09/16/2022 (Fri) 08:27 [Preview] No.8411 del
>>5255
5050anon here, still lurking.
I'm not good at committing to posting, but I've said most of what I wanted to say to the regulars here already anyway, apologies for bump btw.
but I do keep thinking back to this, a sort of untied ending. you said you'd make a new thread but I don't see one that looks like it in the catalog.



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