Thoughts on S9 Part 9: From Old School Comes New Rule

It only really sunk in for me a few days ago. We're into the true final stretch of FiM now...At this point there's only 9 episodes left and I'm not holding my breath on there being another special or any connection to the 2021 movie. On the plus side, there's still 9 episodes left and despite the deluge of early releases and spoilers, I'm going in blind on each of them. All I know is, I'm probably gonna enjoy them, and I've got two more to talk about right now.

Another thing I know is, there's always a chance you'll be seeing unmarked spoilers.

Episode 16 - A Trivial Pursuit:

I'm gonna fess up firstly. I ended up looking at the synopsis for this one, back when it was listed as 'A Great and Trivial Problem'. Sadly my dreams of this being a Trixie episode were quashed with that, but it did let me know we were getting that rare combo of a Twilight/Pinkie ep. Somewhat more commonly, this was also an episode that ended up divisive and with just about everyone hating it and...I'm sorry but, I cannot for the life of me figure out why.

I could tell that Twilight had hit 'the zone' once she was playing, know from experience that once you're there that logic takes a backseat to passion and nothing else matters. Not saying it excuses the lengths she went to but, I get it. Also, regarding her hardcore/repeated twilighting, that's also somewhat excusable. A lot of people seem to forget just how much has been piled on her over the show. If I went from being a grad student to running the whole university, while now a minister of sciences and set to become prime minister within a timeframe of 'soon', all within 5 years at most...I'd be twilighting hard over everything too. Plus come on, you gotta admit it was hilarious to watch. Both from her and Sunburst.

That pretty much set the tone for the episode. I said a while back than an episode that episodes that felt like a season 1 callback weren't going to be very strong (at the least, they wouldn't get better than Non-Compete Clause). This ep proved me completely wrong. It had the smaller scale feel and characteristics, yet showed how far the ponies involved had come. Not to mention it was constantly hilarious and callback loaded. This felt like a last chance to get a 'crazy' episode in and I for one enjoyed it. Brittany Jo Flores has certainly come a long way from writing Once Upon a Zeppelin.

Now if only she could have done different from most writers and not made Applejack look like an idiot for no good reason, it would have been outstanding.

Episode 17 - The Summer Sun Setback:

It feels like forever since we've had an episode giving focus to the rogues gallery and though this was an episode of two halves, I'll focus on theirs first. At this point Chrysalis, Tirek and Cozy have gelled to the point that you'd think they were always a team, pointing out the weirdness of ponies and using their talents to pick away Canterlot's defences. While it was perhaps a bit too easy/lucky for them (how exactly did Chrysalis know the goose was following them, for example), it does show they've still enjoyable while still having fangs. Especially considering they potentially have intel on Grogar's weakness and the implication the next phase of the plan is civil war...

On the other side of things, last episode almost felt like 'Hey, remember how Twilight used to be?'. Now comes this one and surprise, character development! I don't blame the rest of the mane 6 for thinking it might not have stuck either (even if it was incredibly satisfying to see AJ finally call them out on never listening to her), but no. Twi actually showcased her learnings from this season, kept the soon to dwindle legacy of the princesses alive and even managed to impress Discord with her approach. Good thing too, odds are he knows more than he's letting on.

Between all of these and the final summer sun celebration, there was a lot to enjoy here. Between all the cameos and returning ponies, Spitfire finally making another appearance (though still without a much needed line), unicorn Spitfire Fire Flare (does feel like a minor missed opportunity though. A firework troupe would have been perfect for a Tempest Shadow cameo) and just the general sense that we really have turned a corner for progress. All we were really missing was some kind of hint on Cozy's background. Or motive, or anything, please? Still, this is why I wish the villains were in more episodes at the moment. Every time they show up, they bring the best episode of the season and an escalation with them. This both bodes well and extremely poorly for the stakes in the finale.

Episode Rankings:

1 - The Summer Sun Setback
2 - Frenemies
3 - The Last Crusade
4 - Sparkle's Seven
5 - A Trivial Pursuit
6 - She's All Yak
7 - The Beginning of the End
8 - The Last Laugh
9 - Between Dark and Dawn
10 - Student Counsel
11 - Common Ground
12 - The Point of No Return
13 - Sweet and Smoky
14 - Uprooted
15 - 2, 4, 6, Greaaat
16 - Going to Seed

S9 Bingo: 8/25