/pone/ - World of Equestria

 >>/3583/
Nice job as always. I suppose the first order of bussiness shall be the first teaser.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=00pGnVS4_tQ
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

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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

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 >>/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.

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 >>/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.

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

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 >>/3617/
Just looked at the trailer...

 WHAT!?! 

 Yes I do indeed get the reference... link 

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 >
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.

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 >>/3619/ 
Opps, spoiler fail.

 >>/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

 >>/3618/
 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WGzluZxmsGQ

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...

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My fave reactions so far...

 >>/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.

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 >>/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.

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 >>/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.

 >>/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 

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This.

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 >>/3629/
And if not Twilight is gonna be pics related entire season.

 >>/3630/
Didn't mean to spolier those.

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 >>/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.

 >>/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

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 >>/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...

 >>/3679/
> the simplest thing to say is that they have gotten the same treatment as a certain Klingon
is that a Star Trek reference?

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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.

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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.

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 >>/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?.

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 >>/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.

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 >>/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.

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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! 

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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.

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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 

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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.

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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.

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Whelp, I'm going in. See y'all on the other side  if I can load it that is 

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my face right now

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I'm only 2 minutes in and already freaking out.  though I already have a sense where this is going 

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this moment, it's finally here...

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 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? 

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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...

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 >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...  

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 AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! 
How are they gonna fit the rest of that in 22 minutes!

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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.

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 >>/3901/
> Princess Luna and Celestia weren't worfed this time
>  >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

yeah, I have read your posts and it seems that it´s going to be epic

 >>/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 

 >>/3903/
good luck!

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Review and speculation coming after I watch this again.  Though I think I'm leaning more positive than negative 

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 >>/3913/ 
 though some ponies perhaps acted a little odd... 

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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.

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 >>/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.

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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...

 >>/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.

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 >>/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.

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 >>/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.

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 >>/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....

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 >>/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...

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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.

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is he lying or has he denied the most discussed ship of this generation?
There are no more season coming after this one so...

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 >>/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.

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 >>/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.

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 >>/3953/
Well, they already denied Dislestia (unless that's what they are making room for!  ) 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.

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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.

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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

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 >>/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!

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 >>/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....

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 >>/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!  
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.

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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.

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 >>/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.

 >>/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.

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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.

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 >>/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

 >>/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.

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 >>/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.

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 >>/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.

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 >>/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.

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 >>/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.

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 >>/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.

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 >>/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.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=jNClSvqqRzQ

https://youtube.com/watch?v=swjM3rNu5p4

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/.

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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.

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 >>/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

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 >>/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.

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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.

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 >>/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.

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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. 

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 >>/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

> 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.

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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/

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 >>/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.

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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!

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Oh and I loved filly Twilight's face here!

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 >>/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.

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 >>/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.

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 >>/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.

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 >>/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

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 >>/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.

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 >>/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.

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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.

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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....

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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.

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 >>/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.

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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

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 >>/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.

 >>/4039/ 
>  but probably far more security

meant to say "secret" not security

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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?

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 >>/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.

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 >>/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.

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 >>/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.

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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.

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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.

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 >>/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/!

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 >>/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.

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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?

 >>/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!

 >>/4054/
daughter I meant to type that last part. Hehe. Goodnight /endpone

 >>/4055/
Am I going crazy? I...

.pink

. pink

.. pink

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 >>/4055/
Yeah, I'm confused. Don't know how I got pink.

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 >>/4055/
Nevermind! I figured it out. 
https://endchan.org/.static/posting.html

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Maybe Celestia is more darker than we thought?

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 >>/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.

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 >>/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

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 >>/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

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 >>/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.

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 >>/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.

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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.

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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.

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 >>/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?

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 >>/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.

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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...

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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.

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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.

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From what I'v seen of 8 reaction it looks like it could be fun.

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 >>/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...

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Haven't read your thoughts yet just got through Frenimies.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! 
WHAT DID JUST HAPPEN? 
wow!

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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.

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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.

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 >>/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. 

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 >>/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.

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 >>/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.

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 >>/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.

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 >>/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.

 >>/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.

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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.

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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?

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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.

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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. 

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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!

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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...

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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.

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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)

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 >>/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

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.

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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.

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 >>/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.

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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.

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 >>/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.

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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.

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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

 >>/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.

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 >>/4261/ 
Glad ta see ya in the thread No pressure in your other replies, take your time. Goodnight /endpone

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 >>/4264/ 
Did pink text again!

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 >>/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.

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 >>/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.

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 >>/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.

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 >>/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

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 >>/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.

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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.

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 >>/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.

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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.

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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. 

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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.

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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.

 >>/4278/
Didn't mean to post that again.

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 >>/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.

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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...

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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.

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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.

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 >>/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. 

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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

 >>/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. 

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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...

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 >>/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.

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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?

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 >>/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.

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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?

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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?
...

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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)

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 >>/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 

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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!

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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. 

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Wonder if this will be involved in some way.
 no 

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The mane 6 have arrived to Hope Hollow. RED ALERT!

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Alright guys, you've seen crazy small towns before. Remember Dolores?

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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!

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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.

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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.