30 things Season 9 of My Little Pony Friendship is Magic taught me in 2019

2019 agonizes and it is time to review the already classic 30 things that MLP taught us this year (only 30 instead of 40 like it used to be, since Hasbro was very carefully overprotective with its series and, therefore, there was not much material to get from), a season that we could define as anti-climatic, because it achieved the unthinkable, the unimaginable, the impossible, something that, in the 5 years I've been watching this series, I never thought it would come true.

Surpass Season 6 as the worst of the show.

We knew this day was coming. It was inevitable, but this year, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic closes its final season and consequently its 9 year journey with a bittersweet note for your server. So, due to the controversy that this post will generate and knowing in a couple of years down the road, we’ll be heading towards Generation 5, I want to apologize to you all my dear readers, because my opinion is too contrasting to what others have said and because of this, I know that many won’t agree with what I have to say and with the absurd amount of mediocre and low results that this season has thrown. But hey, if you enjoyed it, that's fine and I'm happy for you for liking it and I hope you still enjoy it next time you revisit it, I just wished to like it as much as you and the rest. It's not my duty to tell everyone what to watch and what not to watch or what to like and what not to like, it's just that this isn't the finale I was hoping for.

Disclaimer: All opinions expressed here are based on the analysis and perception of your server, and therefore don't represent the general opinion. Therefore, different perspectives are accepted. Without further ado, let's begin.

Predicting is harder than you might think

This year I became Vergeben and I started to leak many of the events that will happen in Season 9 for 5 months. Some are correct, some are incorrect and some are right to a certain extend. All of them were taken from their original posts, none of them was re-written (in case some of you might think I’m cheating). Here are all my predictions that did and didn’t come true.

A shiny empire will be in trouble. A new power is discovered for the Mane 6, with the Young 6 coming back for more. The original ruler of the empire will return and a highly anticipated character from the past will appear for the first time in forever (Certain King will come back in the opening).

Episode 7: Starring Rarity and Yona, it will feature a song.

Episode 8: All this tells me we'll get a "House of Villains" episode. Back then, I said Garble was going to be part of the episode, that’s why it’s in yellow.

Episode 10: Will be focused on the Apple Family. I'm not sure about the plot, so unfortunately, I can't go more deep here.

Episode 11: Starlight and Sunburst will be the main characters, featuring Maud Pie, Mudbriar and Terramar. At one point, Mudbriar is turned into stone.

Episode 12: It will feature two characters named Holiday and Lofty. Based on MLP wiki, these are Scootaloo's aunts. We're finally getting an introduction to Scootaloo's family. A colt named Skeedaddle (who was in Marks and Recreations) will also appear.

Episode 13: Will be focused on Pinkie Pie. I'm not sure about the plot, so unfortunately, I can't go deeper here.

Apparently, Discord will come back for episode 17

New characters introduced are named Kerfuffle, Moody, Petunia, Mrs. Hoofington, Barley and Torque in 44 minute MLP “Pony” special called My Little Pony: Rainbow Roadtrip

Episode 20: Will be focused on Starlight, with Sunburst and Trixie supporting her. Initially, I thought the plot was going to be both Sunburst and Trixie fighting over Starlight's friendship and make her choose. However, then I remembered Uncommon Bond and my guess went down. I'm not sure about the plot.

Episode 21: Our last Daring Do episode, starring Daring Do and featuring Dr. Caballeron.

Episode 22: The Cutie Mark Crusaders want to go to a county fair, but can't access because they're not "old enough" and thanks to a magical device (that looks similar to the rose from Beauty and the Beast), they grow up. But as always, there will be consequences.

Episode 23: Sugar Belle comes back, meaning Big Mac as well. I'm taking a wild guess with this, and I'm probably going to be very wrong, but this means Big Mac and Sugar Belle will get marry (or at least, propose to her). It might be a coincidence that Equestria Daily posted in the community soapbox an opinion about Big Mac's next step into his character, which was getting married with Sugar Belle. Honestly, I can't wait to be wrong.

Episode 24: Discord will make and appearance, featuring the 7 pillars (at least I'm sure Meadowbrook and Rockhoof are appearing). I'm guessing the episode will focus on them making amends, I mean it's the next logical step, especially considering that some people wanted a Discord-Starswirl episode.

The taller you are, the harder you fall

It’s... better than I thought it was going to be, but at the same time it doesn’t tackle the main issue that’s been plaguing the show since season 6: a fair number of stories have felt similar to ones previously shown in the first five seasons and this isn’t the exception to the rule. However, this is a sign that will plague the rest of the season for bad and for worse (yes, you read it right, the few goods are not very impressive in the best case scenario and don’t help the score in the long run). The first half is where the premiere really shines. Twilight’s friends mock her freak outs, the returning villains are well-handled and Grogar’s role, as small as it is, leaves enough impact to make you wonder what he’s planning for Equestria (it’s depressing how he turned out to be, but let’s save that for later). Heck, even Sombra finally has a defined personality! He’s extremely overconfident about conquering Equestria by himself and it eventually leads to his second downfall and Discord’s appearance during the final battle against Sombra is where he really shines; faking his death just to give the Mane Six the confidence boost they need. Overall, there isn’t much to take from The Beginning of the End because the plot as a whole is too recycled, but I feel the character moments and the ending theme about admitting mistakes salvage it for the most part. 3.5/5.

The Young 6 carried this season

This episode’s heart is in the right place. Given their connection to the Tree of Harmony from What Lies Beneath and School Raze, the Young 6 were absolutely fitting for the lead role. Here, each character stands out when it comes to personality. With that said, there isn’t much to say story wise. This is Castle Sweet Castle with a different group of characters and different tree being honored after destruction. And the message about teamwork isn’t really new either, but the shared dream between all six was random yet funny at the same time, and it’s also ironic that given the reputation of her kind, Yona is the one who talks sense into the others about how the Tree should be honored. Complaints aside, this was a really good episode and it fit the Young 6 perfectly. The story flowed naturally and the theme was solid. However, I felt the lack of originality held it back from being truly amazing. 4/5.

200 episodes is nothing for the staff

I don’t know what’s more frustrating: that Shining Armor took 7 seasons to finally have a major role or an upgrade for his already shallow personality or that the plot itself gives me very little to talk about. With the first topic, it’s sad how many characters with good potential are getting introduced and then barely getting any screen time or mention following their debut stories. And with the second one... A game involving a cardboard crown? Really? That’s it? When I think about celebrating your 200^th episode, Sparkle’s Seven is not what I have in mind. Well, at least they tried to give Zephyr Breeze a purpose. Meaningless, but I digress. 1/5.

Recycling is a double-edge sword

Copying Amending Fences point for point is one thing, but showing Moon Dancer without having any fitting or necessary role to the plot is disappointing to say the least. It feels like a cheap fanservice. As for the story, the flashbacks to the first episode of the show feel like the attempt to maintain a sense of continuity, even if it’s pulled out of nowhere. I like how the reconciliation between Twilight and Dusty Pages was written because it make the Princess of Friendship feel special, but means the moral (nobody’s perfect), whilst okay, is not very well implemented. The Point of No Return feels forced in most of its time and lacks any reason to exist, and it’s sad, because this had a lot of potential. 1.5/5.

A story can be too intimate if you choose the right person

It’s so nice seeing Quibble Pants again, and unlike Moon Dancer, we get to see what Quibble is like outside of his interest in Daring Do. Although we never see what became of Clear Sky’s first husband, it’s pretty clear that Quibble Pants is sympathetic towards her plight of being a single parent to Wind Sprint, who doesn’t even like her mom’s new coltfriend. So Quibble does everything he can to impress Wind, even if it means making a joke of himself in front of thousands of ponies. I like how Rainbow Dash is written here. She knows Quibble Pants needs help in bonding with Wind and does everything she can to make it happen, despite that he isn’t the most athletic pony around. The moral about teaching the audience about bonding with people despite your differences is good and it’s not used that often in media. It has the right mix of comedy, charm and heartwarming moments, and a good moral to boot. Common Ground does everything a great episode should do. 5/5.

Yona is the best of the Young 6

She’s All Yak feels like the complete opposite of Party Pooped, with Yona wanting to learn about pony culture. It’s also way less annoying, you feel sympathetic towards Yona and the plot doesn’t feel like it was pulled from the writers’ backsides. That’s... pretty much it, really. On its own, it’s a nice, charming little episode and the character moments and development manage to salvage the whole thing, but there’s very little for me to talk about. On the other hand, who would’ve known that one of the best dynamics of the whole season would be Sandbar and Yona? 4.5/5.

The bigger the hype, the greater the disappointment

Where do I even begin with this? The premise alone looks promising: an episode focused on the villains, all backstabbing and betraying each other continuously while trying to take over Equestria? That’s genius, it can be like an episode from the Pinky and the Brain! The problem is trying to teach a moral of being yourself with characters you’re not supposed to sympathize with and who have no redeeming qualities whatsoever. Yes, there are horrible people in the world, but if they want to change, it’s on them entirely. They have to earn forgiveness. We don’t even know more about them during the course of the story. The episode’s pacing is too slow and what happens in it is so little to the point of having almost nothing to do with them, which was sickeningly sweet for the wrong reasons. And again, there is no reason we should sympathize with them because they’re dangerous criminals! I know there’s good in everyone and that’s fine, but not everyone wants to change. Even if you take the unfortunate implications out of the equation, Frenemies is a slow festival which has its intentions put in the wrong place. 0.

Even the most spent plot device can work in the right hands

Garble turning out to be the brother Smolder referred to in Molt Down was a bit unexpected, but it was very much relieving that they didn’t spoil that information. That was a nice little twist. Even nicer was Fluttershy calling him out for being a bully to Spike for all those years (showing how far she’s gone since the very beginning and she and Ember were even on good terms with one another), as was Smolder for chewing her brother out for tormenting Spike behind her back. This episode’s, execution of both and the character moments pull through makes Sweet and Smoky a genuinely good effort, with its only faults being Spike not doing that much in the episode and Garble not asking forgiveness to Spike. 4/5.

A myth can disappear if nobody’s interested

The overall plot has the problem of nothing really happening. The Great Seedlin’ turning out to be Big Mac could be a nice twist except we could almost see it from a mile away. He shines through by providing the episode’s comedy and we get a flashback showing Bright Mac and Pear Butter alive with an infant Apple Bloom, but apart from that, there’s nothing really remarkable going on. The characters and theme in general were fine, but the story’s slow pacing with nothing spectacular going on make me realize there’s very little to say about Going to Seed. 2.5/5.

Recycling can strike back twice

Starlight trying to find a balance between her new position as headmare and her friendship with Trixie, Maud and Sunburst has the potential to be interesting considering their previous experiences, but everything becomes a mashup between Every Little Thing She Does and Stare Master in the end. The theme of “don’t overwork yourself” has been done better in previous entries. Everything Student Counsel does has been done in past episodes and with better results. 2/5.

A simple concept can diminish a great idea

I like the idea of one of the characters worrying about moving and leaving their friends behind and finally seeing Scootaloo’s parents for the first time is cool (not to mention, their designs justify why Scootaloo can’t fly. That’s brilliant!). But this episode just raises too many questions that I dare not to write because we’ll never end. With all its good intentions, with its excellent premise and how well the episode is written, this is a case where all falls down to a bad ending because of how obvious it is. Considering how often the show has broken the status quo, this feels like a wasted opportunity. Think about it: Have Scootaloo first talk to her parents about the situation, and so they show pictures of their planned new home, giving Scootaloo the chance to think about this decision with her friends. They’re still sad about the idea, but they give her support because kids are resilient when it comes to a friend moving house. Scootaloo then thinks about all the adventures she had in Ponyville, and figures that she could still have new adventures in a new place and return to Ponyville whenever she has the chance. Even if she makes new friends there, she’ll still have her old Ponyville friends to go back to, as if they were never apart to begin with. There’s even the possibility of helping blank flanks beyond Ponyville discover their true destinies! The Last Crusade, as it stands, feels like it was designed to be watched once, and even when watching for the first time, the predictable ending makes the entire conflict pointless. 3/5.

Celestia and Luna have too much to worry about

I like watching Celestia and Luna having sister moments, but their portrayals here completely devalues what they learned two season ago. I like their singing duet and hearing them sing together is one of the prettiest moments of the show (even it when they reconcile, the episode just finishes with no conclusion). But believe it or not, the main problem I have with the episode is not them. It’s Twilight! She’s supposed to be the voice of reason and yes, she has flaws, and without them, you’d border on making her a Mary Sue, and we know how despised many of them are. But you can also go too far the other end as well by exaggerating her flaws. 2/5.

The box office can change your plans from one day to another

Rainbow Roadtrip doesn’t even feel like a special at all. It could’ve been shorten to a 22-minute episode and the result would’ve been the same. Heck, the overall premise feels like something you’d expect to see from a normal episode, not a feature length special. The plot itself is like The Cutie Map, except that it comes to a point of dragging itself on and on and nothing onscreen has tension or excitement. The theme about helping others does work out, however, it’s especially relevant given that the world’s a complete mess and hardly anyone’s doing something about it. Some will argue that the character moments were really good, and for the most part, they are, but there’s a limit of what you do onscreen. 1/5.

The series has succumbed to the PC

Equestria Girls had more expansions this year, but without neglecting the repetitiveness to which it’s unfortunately anchored. If these girls want to go beyond the finale of the original series, what they need to do first is to stop chewing the same gray paste they’ve been recycling since Rainbow Rocks, get out of the school mold to which they remain tied and stop reminding the audience that they’re the ponies we all know and love. Perhaps the biggest surprise the series has bring to the table was that, apparently in an exchange about shippers, including some Sunset/Flash shippers, that tended to be homophobic, the director for EqG, K. Hadley, made mention that Sunset is actually Bi. But later in the thread says it is still up to fan's personal preference according to the conversation. If you ask me, I think the team thought it was pretty obvious, but it was certainly a surprise to me.

Cheesepie was the only OTP that survived

Did Cheese Sandwich’s return justifies the existence of this episode or at least means it’s a good one? It’s decent in most areas, but nothing crazy. When we’re reintroduced to Cheese Sandwich, he's stuck in his own factory and completely lost his laugh (which I can see as my enthusiasm and feelings towards this season). And that’s not mentioning how painfully obvious the solution is. If The Last Laugh has a bright spot, I would say that Pinkie is fairly well-written like a genuine friend who wants to help, Cheese Sandwich is also pretty sympathetic despite the obvious outcome and Sans Smirk feels like Svengallop if he was likable and always ready to help his boss to the point where, when Cheese gives him the factory, it feels earned. 3/5.

Twilight can troll like Celestia

One can say this episode has a little bit of callback to earlier episodes, with Twilight choosing Rainbow Dash to be the chief of the cheer squad as trolling, just like Celestia was with her in previous seasons, but the truth is that nothing stands out about it and there’s honestly very little else I can say in terms of story or theme. The themes about working together and responsibility aren’t that interesting either. When Yona, Ocellus and Smolder are the best part of your episode, you should seriously consider how to handle the characters we've known since the first season better. But hey, at least this time around, Rainbow wasn’t reckless enough to endanger anyone’s life. 2/5.

With the amount of talent that the community has demonstrated, we can continue to live on

For nine years they’ve evangelized the show, and for nine years they've been targets of scorn. But they’ve come here for BronyCon — the biggest My Little Pony convention in the world — heedless of what that world may think of them. The My Little Pony memorial began with just a few trinkets of affection. A drawing of Twilight Sparkle here. A pile of collectible trading cards there. As the country's largest brony convention came to an end, the collection grew into a mountain of pony memorabilia that stood over 8 feet tall. A sign stood over it that read, “RIP Bronycon.” The convention, which took place in Baltimore earlier this month, likely came to an end because the television series recently aired its last season. Many of us have also watched the community thin out over the years as bronies went on and pursued other interests. But that’s also part of what is keeping the community alive. After becoming part of the scene, many bronies go on to pursue careers in animation, voice acting and music. Others try to keep the fandom alive through local meetup groups.

You only need 22 minutes to destroy a character

A Trivial Pursuit is a serious candidate for one of the worst episodes of the entire series. Ok, I can forgive the slow pacing, the unfunny humor, Sunburst’s appearing for no reason, the excess of fanservice, Pinkie Pie’s annoyance, the confusing moral learned at the end and the wasted potential of this episode (a trivia episode that plays with what we’ve seen in the series up to that point, similar to The Kirby Quiz from Kirby Right Back At Ya? Count me in!). What I can’t forgive is Twilight’s being an asshole to Pinkie because she wants to get three wins in a row in a game that was never mentioned before and freaks out because she’s afraid Pinkie Pie will screw up her chances of winning. This is the breaking point! This is where her character, a character we’ve seen and learned to love all this time gets assassinated! You made mistakes so you can learn from them, not so you can make more mistakes! Her behavior makes the entire episode unbearable to watch and confirms Twilight’s current status as the most destroyed character of the entire show. Why does this episode exist in the first place? 0.

Which brings me to the next point...

Twilight has paranoid schizophrenia

Out of all the Mane 6, Twilight received the worst treatment when it comes to character derailment. Who was once a nice, intelligent, common sense pony who proved to everypony why she was worthy to relieve Celestia as the Princess of Equestria turned over time into either an insufferable hypocrite or an over-reacting idiot and season 9 has Twilight at her worst. I can understand the stress over taking over for Celestia and Luna, but at this point, Twilight should be a lot more composed than she was back in Seasons 1 and 2. Episodes such as The Point of No Return and A Trivial Pursuit makes me believe that Celestia and Luna are giving their duties to a pony with serious mental issues that can send the entire world to war the next time she freaks out or has a paranoia episode. I’m not kidding, things will fall into complete chaos and probably end up being worse than before the events of Nightmare Moon’s return. Her character development has been completely trashed by her behavior in season nine alone, and it’s absolutely heartbreaking to see her character twisted and broken beyond recognition, proving that the writers fucked up, they’re glad they fucked up and they’ll continue to fuck up in new and spectacular ways. If you’re a Twilight fan despite everything, my sincere respects, but remember her for the good moments in the first five seasons.

Villainies have been reduced to first-grade pranks

Taking into account the previous point, this episode feels less like character development and more like an attempt at excusing Twilight’s behavior to this point, but if we take that out of the equation, this is another episode where the story leaves me with nothing to work with. It’s just the Mane 6 trying to clear up a mess caused by Tirek, Chrysalis and Cozy Glow (and said mess looks more like a poorly crafted joke worthy of a troublemaker) before Twilight finds out about it. There’s nothing new here in regard to the story or the theme. At least this time around, the villains behave as villains and not “misunderstood” criminals. Considering Canterlot’s tight security, you’d think ponies would be smart enough to figure out that there’s something going on behind the scenes! Also, Discord is just there. You could've easily cut him out and nothing would change. 1/5.

Fluttershy is the pony who progressed the most in the entire show

I don’t know what’s more sad: the fact that Fluttershy has been the most consistent character of the final season or that one of the best episodes of this season comes from one of the most hit-or-miss writers of the series (more the latter than the former to be fair). And although it’s not the most original story ever made (it’s your typical body swap episode), it’s better executed and it works for both Fluttershy and Angel: he’s frustrated that she never gets to spend time with him anymore, and she, in return, is upset that he doesn’t understand the hard work she does around the animal sanctuary and the School of Friendship. Angel talking and acting in Fluttershy’s body is really funny. The rest of the story is very predictable but well done and the moral is a good one to learn: don't just assume that the other person's job is easy; you have to actually do the job to understand the complexity surrounding it. Despite its predictability, She Talks to Angel is quite fresh and that’s all I could really ask for. 4/5.

A simple change can make a better episode

This was one of those episodes I wanted... no, I demanded to be made in the series. It’s important for both Rarity and Spike, I was exhausted of years and years of teasing between these two and I wanted their pair bonding to be either confirmed or disconfirmed. The results? Not what I expected, the way they wrote Rarity makes her look selfish about wanting Spike for herself and the plot itself looks more like a jealousy case rather than going deep into the bond of one of the most popular ships in the series (and one that has existed since the beginning). Also, of all characters, why does Spike hang out with Gabby? I like seeing her back, but we’ve never seen them interact once in her debut episode, so why are they close friends? This could’ve made better sense if you make a little change: replace Gabby with Sweetie Belle and make her hang out with Spike, given his previous interactions with the little filly and it will make sense in Rarity’s behavior. Dragon Dropped is decent overall, but it could’ve been better. 3/5.

We’ll miss Phyllis

I’ll start off fair and say that this episode does at least acknowledge who will be running the School of Friendship when Twilight moves back to Canterlot and Trixie wants to be vice-headmare. However, it has been shown that both Starlight and Trixie, as best friends as they are, bring out the worst of each other and that Trixie is the same pony we’ve met since the first season. In the end, it’s decided that Sunburst be Starlight’s vice-headmare, this feels more like a plot device rather than a genuine choice. To give the episode credit where it’s due, the episode as a whole did at least try to be entertaining. Big Mac trying to speak with Sky Beak about Silverstream’s achievements was perhaps the biggest standout, I genuinely laughed at it just for how silly it was, as was Starlight talking to Phyllis like it was a child, especially her reaction to Trixie throwing it away. For being Starlight’s final episode, she deserved so much more than what she got. 3/5.

Common enemies can be joined by the most uncommon situations

A weird amalgam of all Daring Do episodes that also makes the same mistakes done in Frenemies, with a deconstructed character such as Dr. Caballeron and an awful twist by calling Ahuizotl a guardian who has been trying to protect his jungle and the artifacts that Daring Do and Caballeron take from him. Not to mention the way the writers messed up with the continuity (at this point, I’m questioning how nobody has known A.K. Yearling is Daring Do). I’m sure this has a commentary about ancient relics’ theft, pretending that foreigners can take better care of those artifacts than the natives and how colonialism damages cultures and Fluttershy’s role is good as small as it is, but the result it’s a mixed bag that can’t be processed very well on its first watch. Daring Doubt feels unfinished and rushed and could’ve been improved. 3/5.

Being an adult fucking sucks

The Crusaders were enjoyable throughout, but it’s no surprise considering who’s writing this episode. The trio embracing the joys of being an adult through song was fantastic, and the moral they learned about growing up being a long process was really good. The two kids they come along can be irritating at times, but they have they redeeming qualities and getting angry with the Crusaders when they realize they’re actually younger than them is comprehensible. The overall result was just... fine. Growing Up is Hard to Do may not be one of the Crusaders’ best, but there’s a lot to enjoy about it. The story and theme are relatable enough to anyone about growing up. 3.5/5.

There was calm before the storm

This overall premise felt a lot like The Saddle Row Review, except that here’s a more restrained cast, and the humor is a lot more spot on. There’s too many funny moments to list and I like how the episode plays out: the first two acts take place alongside each other, but are taken from different point of views, but it’s the third act where the episode shines. Big Mac is frustrated that his plans with Sugar Belle haven’t worked out the way he intended, but she isn’t bothered by that and both end up proposing to each other, leading to a satisfying (and heartwarming) ending. Seriously, them talking things out before the proposal is one of the best moments of the entire show. The Big Mac Question funny, sweet, charming, and has a great ending and moral, one of the best of this season. 5/5.

You can be near to destroy the world, betray your friends, admit that you’re glad you fucked up and go unpunished for your actions

Is it too much to ask for a decent finale? Or at least, try something that isn’t pretentious or trying to be epic to say the least? This is the main problem that has plagued the previous finales (excepting Seasons 1, 2 and, to a certain extend, 7) and this is no exception, but now, it has a stupid plot twist (Discord being Grogar) that doesn’t help any. Discord receives no punishment for his actions and all his character arc goes to nowhere thanks to this decision. As for Twilight, the pacing of the episode is so rushed and the story is so conglomerate and full too many things happening at the same time, that we never saw an obvious transition from freaking out over petty things to trying to keep her stress under control to being the adorkable methodical pony we knew. The final battle with all the tribes fighting against the terrible trio was nice and all, but even then, it takes very grand finale cliché (not just from MLP, but from media in general), it feels like it was there just to make this finale feel like a huge deal. The Ending of the End is a completely underwhelming anticlimax for a finale. 1.5/5.

What could have been...

Nobody knows how to close a saga

For being the year where most shows and sagas ended, almost nobody knows how to properly finish one. Most of them were really bad (Game of Thrones, Star Vs., X-Men, Toy Story) and even if we got a good ending, it was pretty weak compared to previous entries (Glass, Endgame, Gumball, How to Train Your Dragon). Sadly, MLP falls into the first category. The main problem I have with the last finale is that it contradicts many of the things both the show and the staff told us in the past. Firstly, why would one princess take over for two? And secondly, why can’t Twilight have her own kingdom to rule over? Cadance is ruling the Crystal Empire alongside Shining Armor, and they have a daughter who’ll one day take over for them when she grows up. So Twilight taking over for the royal sisters makes no sense at all. If Twilight was going to stay in Canterlot all this time, why did she move to Ponyville in the first place? It almost feels like a spit in the face. And then there’s the time skip. If they want to imply that things have changed since Twilight took over, fair enough. Except they shoved in so much into the last episode that it almost felt like they didn't even try. By using the time skip as a part of the story, they told too much and yet, they didn’t tell anything. They did the “show, don’t tell” in reverse. Some people hate Luster Dawn for being another clone of Twilight and not being that interesting to care about. Personally, I’m indifferent towards her and feels contradictory to blame her for being a discount Twilight when Trixie, Starlight, Sunset and Moon Dancer were the same and nobody said anything. It’s been said in the past from the creators that Twilight will not outlive her friends, but this episode implies that she will! How is this a happy ending for Twilight, based on that? I could only imagine how Celestia and Luna felt when they had friends that eventually passed on! I already saw this coming since season 4, but I didn’t want it to come true. The final song is so bland and generic that I can’t even remember the title. The sad fact is that it could’ve actually been a decent episode if they removed the time skip gimmick, keep Twilight in Ponyville and fleshed out elements of the flashbacks to fill the runtime. However, it does promises what we wanted to a certain extend. 2/5.

The end of the decade and the series left us one last low note

Here we have, the lowest point of the series... and one it will take time to recover.

MythrilMoth, one of the most well-known, beloved and important authors on Fimfiction and the entire fandom, passed away on May 5th due to health complications according to his friend Zef at the age of 24.

Rest in peace, author of many dreams and fantasies.

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Top
5. Uprooted
4. She Talks to Angel
3. She’s All Yak
2. Common Ground
1. The Big Mac Question

Season Average Score: 2.6/5

So, which were the best episodes of the season for you? What does 2019 taught you? What will you do now that the series is finished? Leave it in the comments.