Friendship is Magic review by Obake

(SPOILERS!)

Sigh….

This is not going to be easy to review. The Last Problem is an episode set in the future, where a now ruling Twilight must teach one of her students the meaning of friendship. A thing to appreciate is ending on a book closing (a reference to the very first episode).

That is the only nice thing I can say. The more I've thought about this episode, the worse it has become, even besides the elephant in the room.

Let us get to that. So the writers forgot (or ignored) the promise that Twilight was not going to outlive her friends. As seen in this future, all of the Mane 6 (sans Twilight) are clearly getting aged. Now forgetting the writers promise, the concept of Twilight outliving her friends is not inherently bad, at least outside of the show's context. There have been animations and fanfictions centered around it, that have been good. The problem is the show does not address the issue at all, nor do I think it could given how careful the writers have to be on certain subjects. Which is a shame, given that death is a natural part of life, and I am not against kids shows dealing with it in the right way.

The problem is the writers simply ignored it. Not only that, as someone pointed in the site's main thread for the episode, giving the show a definitive future (with certain characters now having relationships, such as Pinkie and Cheese Sandwhich) ruins fanfiction and story attempts.

It is so frustrating, too, because I am not against the idea of a future episode. While pondering, I thought of a perfect way to implement the future theme: have it an anthology of characters pondering what they think the future holds. Not only would this keep fanfiction ideas open, it would allow each character to give their own unique spin.

Think of this: rather than having Spike be a buff dragon in the future, have him be a buff dragon in what he thinks the future will be. This would be a great callback to the season 1 episode A Dog and Pony Show (where he imagined himself as the suave hero saving Rarity), and it would also play into his still childlike innocence.

Rarity could imagine the future as thus: her shops are a worldwide brand, she is a household name, and oh, Spike is still her small, cutesy assistant.

I know I'm pondering what the episode could be instead of what it is, but the truth of the matter is that the episode, as is, is poorly thought out.

Its story amounts to future Twilight telling her student about her coronation disaster (think a watered down Best Night Ever, without the good pacing or humor.) It ends with the student learning all about friendship, with a lulling song that tries to evoke emotion, but does not. For as bad as Magical Mystery Cure may be, it at least evokes feelings. The Last Problem only evokes bleh.

I will get to the Big Mac episode soon. Suffice to say, the last three episodes were bad.

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I don't blame you for waiting til later to get to the last normal episode of the season. Anyone would need a palette cleanser after this. And I have to say the lack of a “extras” list, a first for your CERR reviews, is quite telling of the abysmal quality of this episode.

This episode is an abomination and cements so many things that so many fans, detractors and hardliners alike, did not want to see happen. There's so much superficiality in this episode, which seems to be an overarching problem with this series finale, such as all of the adult characters being aged further than they should look just to make them look older. Sugar Belle in particular looks older than her husband and looks more like a grandmother despite having a son whose age is likely in the single digits. The very sight of the last shot of the episode with the Mane Six with Twilight now an unaging immortal princess made me the most upset I had ever been with anything in the show. I am amazed I got to sleep that night.

This entire episode is woefully disrespectful to the countless fans that allowed it to get as far as it did. Regardless of what side of the fence you were on when Magical Mystery Cure aired, the vast majority of the fandom agreed that Twilight Sparkle becoming immortal should not be allowed to happen. It got to the point that Meghan Mccarthy had to go on record declaring that Twilight was not immortal. Only for the writers going back on their word at the worst possible time. And if there are any hardliners out there with the audacity to defend this by saying they were fickle enough to simply "change their minds", it would have been wiser if the showrunners remained silent on the issue to keep the situation ambiguous. Better to stay silent than to make promises you cannot keep.

Maybe this could have been prevented. If there was enough of a pushback when Magical Mystery Cure aired, maybe the writers would have rectified this problem. But we all know why it didn’t happen. Let this be a lesson to hardline fans everywhere. This is what happens when you ignore genuine flaws in something you like for the sake of maintaining your own happiness. It does not benefit anyone in the long run.

The one good thing that I will say has come out of this series finale is the very vocal and angry pushback the show received once it was leaked. So many loyal fans woke up to the sorry state the show was in and made it very clear everywhere they could. The effects were immediate, a fandom revolt happened almost overnight, and even the most vocal and stalwart hardline fans that remained loyal to the show went silent with their arguments from as recently as six months ago no longer holding as much water. Truly, I am proud of this fandom for finally establishing some standards. A reevaluation of the series will likely happen in the near future, which I am looking forward to seeing.

With that said, this show has ended on an unambiguous downer ending. It’s depressing and not for the right reasons. And no matter what happens in "Season 10" in the IDW comics, this future for the Mane Six is set in stone and cannot change and cementing the comic’s lore as “optional canon”. When the show's staff should have known better. Congratulations, you fools. You failed us all.

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Was Megan even still a part of the show? If not, then they probably forgot what she said.

The problem is the writers simply ignored it. Not only that, as someone pointed in the site's main thread for the episode, giving the show a definitive future (with certain characters now having relationships, such as Pinkie and Cheese Sandwhich) ruins fanfiction and story attempts.

I mean...it's not like the hundreds of thousands of fics on this site haven't been paying attention to the show for the past nine years already, so why does TLP change anything?

Twitter is still shipping AJ/Rarity even though the show said AJ and Dashie got hitched

Just toss the series finale in with everything else authors ignore when writing, and if readers complain about not adhering to canon, then it's time to remind them why fanfiction exists in the first place

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The site as a whole went through a weird period around Twilight's alicornification where people who stayed in pre-CurrentSeason settings were shunned, and there was much kicking and screaming over "use the AU tag so we can ignore your stories, because they suck!" for anyone who wanted to ignore episodes which happened after they had planned out their fic. Many (most?) authors started dropping stories which were built on no-longer-canon ideas. Most of that seems to have stuck around out of inertia.

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Yeah, that was about when I codified reworking an in-progress story to comply with newer canon as the cardinal sin of fanfiction because it ruined so many great stories.

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There's a pile in the back corner of my "favorites" shelf which were never completed because either the attempted revisions failed, they were too daunting, or the author was dogpiled over refusing to engage in revisions and abandoned the project.

7029954
I'm fairly sure that's the case with mine too, but to be honest I've lost track of the back end of it so I can't say for certain.

What's bizarre to me about this finale is just how heavily so many thins were implied, without any actual facts to back them up. It's very clearly implied that Pinkie and Cheese had a kid, but there are also reasons to doubt. She's toting around a kid named "Little Cheese" and spending time in the background with the adult Cheese later on, but key facts are missing (like if it's even her kid). They're obviously going for a Harry Potter epilogue style thing here, yet in that very epilogue we had Harry naming his kid after important people in his life. It's not hard to imagine if Pinkie did have a kid, she might name it after Cheese because he was influential in her life. And remember, they COULD have said "Cheese Jr." but they specifically didn't. That would have pretty much clinched it, but the fact it's NOT Cheese Jr raises doubts about the kid's parentage. Similarly, we know Dash and AJ live together, as well as Discord and Shy... and that's it. Nothing else about them.

As for the immortality thing, I'm usually not one to care about it at all, but this time it does muddle the message a bit. Twilight's student Luster Dawn specifically wonders why making friends is important if friends will inevitably drift apart, and Twilight assures her that her friends have stayed with her this whole time, even when their lives are in faraway cities. Yet... what happens when Twilight is asked the same thing 100 years later?

It really is a downer, but what's even more of downer is that I like the last 5 minutes.

Hear me out. I actually don't mind the idea of them visiting each other once a month or so. I think this sends a realistic message of life will unavoidably get in the way of friendships and this is something you will have to work through. The last song taken on its own I do like, and I felt like it was at least the kind of note I wanted personally to end FiM on. Key words: "on its own" though. Cause seeing Twilight immortal Alicornified and the rest ageing with wrinkles makes it look just depressing. If I close my eyes while listening to the song, it does sound like a finale song for FiM.

I also think it doesn't help this episode really drags its feet. You could honestly just maybe have the last song on its own and not even have a time skip at all without all the imagery nor this new student. Why not make the two-parter a three parter with the final segment after a commercial break be this epilogue segment with the coronation and subsequent song?

But really: Does anyone want to see their heroes old and looking like they're on their way to their deathbed?

I find it truly ironic that this was meant to be a "tie up" but all it does is raise more questions than answers, and some questions the fandom has wanted like Spike's parents or what happened with certain characters just get left to rot away. Another irony being most of what Jim said in a QnA about what things have happened were mostly "Left ambiguous" or "Up to interpretation." Makes the whole thing feel like another "eh, we'll let the fans write the story in their heads!" But all I think it ended up doing was ticking off fans because it's such a jarring change and the implications run high. Feels like a lot of this was just to add fanfic fuel but they ended up pouring it on the dumpster fire of the show itself.

I mean the immortality factor already runs high, and that's just with Twilight. What about poor Spike or I guess Cadence now? Heck, throw Smolder in there now.

Oh yeah, the young six. Why does Spike look older than Smolder now? Did they really just give Ocellus a larger neck? I find it funny they had an off-screen contribution in the two-parter (and then part of the last rainbow beam - except Ocellus because they forgot to animate her in at first), but only Gallus gets a speaking role in the final episode. Really feels like they were tacked on as a whole.

Said this elsewhere: But this final episode is basically an amalgamation of all the shoddy decisions they've made and now they had to include them to come to a forced happy ending of sorts.

Like the presentation of them accepting they'll have to go their separate ways. Firstly didn't we already do this in the Season 4 premiere? But then they went ahead and just made her stay in Ponyville. Also too didn't we touch on this a bit with Rainbow Dash and Rarity getting their goals more realized? Kinda lessons the impact of this and they showed it didn't affect them much before. At least here they actually show results of that.

Then just having to accept this premise of Twilight going through with being ruler. Like really? Celestia and Luna, both who are probably over 1,000 years old themselves, are just literally retiring? And I do mean that since Celestia says "Visit us at Silver Shoals." Like are they also just not gonna bother with the sun and moon anymore given that amulet given to Twilight before? They don't need to be rulers to still do that. They'll put a child in stone, but can't even do something like "It's time for Luna and I to move on" ? And yes, I'm aware that was one of the ideas for the season. Now I'm waiting for a fanfic of Celestia and Luna still in retirement 1,000 years later and Luna goes: "Sister, perhaps you didn't think this retirement idea through."

I think the ultimate question is: Is this episode bad on its own merits, or bad because of everything else going in? Feels hard to answer that because you can't really take this episode on its own because it's the final one meant to be the conclusion to all their efforts. It's not just the end of the three-parter, but the end of FiM. And all the things they didn't address or think through just taint it to many people.

Just feels like one big bleh. I think I'm not really that upset just because this was one of the things spoiled for me so I've had time to let it sit.

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Now I'm waiting for a fanfic of Celestia and Luna still in retirement 1,000 years later and Luna goes: "Sister, perhaps you didn't think this retirement idea through."

"Oh them? Yeah, you'll get used to em quick, living here. Those two were once the rulers of this land, some 500 odd years ago, not surprised you don't recognize em. Some say they're the only reason this ancient retirement home still stands. They been here since before my great great grandfather took over management, and they'll be here long after either of us is around. They're the only constants in this place, but nopony can say for the life of them why they're still here."

7029933 "Platinum Crown" did that in its latest chapter, which finally led me to rage-quit.

it had presented the changelings THE ENTIRE STORY as utterly monstrous things which SLAUGHTERED ponies by the boatloads... uhm, never mind that they kinda needed living ponies for love and what not... and then suddenly Thorax showed up out of the blue and turned into a Skittles bug IN ONE CHAPTER which took place in a few hours of time story-wise.

Even the show gave him more time than that.

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Said this elsewhere: But this final episode is basically an amalgamation of all the shoddy decisions they've made and now they had to include them to come to a forced happy ending of sorts.

That's the most succinct and accurate summation of this dumpster fire anyone could possibly come up with!

It's bad on EVERY level. Most of it makes no sense at all within its own context. Shoving in a ton of characters (including the ones from the movie who never appeared in the show before) just made it all worse.

It felt much more "Justice League"-level fail than "Avengers: Endgame". Both were VERY predictable, but the latter set it all up much better and paid more attention to the characterization than the setpieces.

The FiM finale focused far too much on setpieces, and the season had failed to create a plausible setup. Hell, what little it bothered with was utterly undermined with the Grogar-Discord twist.

And a bit more on that note: Discord claimed he was doing it to try to reform the villains... uhm… so at what point in his reformation did the ponies give him access to a super-weapon and tell him to take over the world? I think the only word that adequately fits such a complete and absolute lack of thought is 'braindead'.

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I actually wished they spent more time in the future stuff.

I think it would have been cooler to see more of what all has changed.

Maybe explore the new relationships and other characters.

Maybe they'll do a comic of it?

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A comic would not be a bad idea, certainly.

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you know what I hate about twilight. her entire life was handed to her, and its perfect. she has the talent and magic of a thousand ponies combined, she was given life long friends in the first episode, she has a free home, was raised by royalty, and she even gets to live forever. I hate her. I hate her and I hate the lazy protagonists they copied from her.

7050409 Her entire life was made for her the moment Discord was defeated by Luna and Celstia, a time long before she was born.

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The more you look back into that, all the way back to the creation of the Tree of Harmony, the more cheapened Twilight’s entire existence gets. She had always been a pawn whether anyone knew it or not. It’s as disturbing as it is depressing.

7050742 And then they made Twilight clone #1 Sunset Shimmer... and now she's been reformed into obedient servant!

And then they made Twilight clone #2 Starlight Glimmer... and now she's been reformed into an obedient servant!

YOU WILL ALL BECOME ONE WITH EQUESTRIA!! YOU WILL ALL BE HARMONIZED!!! RESISTANCE IS FUTILE!!

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Are you done?

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I feel like the sisters got the short end of the stick in that whole plan there from Harmony.
Especially Luna's case..

What bothers me alot about this episode is the writers didn't even bother showing us how are Luna and Celestia doing after the timeskip.
Their flipping retirement is a huge part of the season, not showing us how are they doing exactly(not just say "They are at a place full of old wrinkled ponies, lel").
If felt like the Royal Sisters didn't get a really good sendoff here..

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I am actually glad they didn't went the idea of "They are retiring because they have to pass on".
It would make the retirement bit even more worse.
Luna already didn't get to rule for much long and just got back from the moon, smacking her with "You are not allowed to be among the living anymore and must pass on, lmao" is just wrong. Her returning from the moon since a few years only to be smacked with that is just cruel.
No, "She brought this upon herself" doesn't justify this. Since one, Luna was not in a healthy state of mind when the NMM mess happened and the fact Celestia is at fault too for not being there for her(and the citizens of Equestria taking Luna for granted). Luna has suffered enough big time, telling her that she can't be among the living anymore despite she got back from the moon since a few years is too much.(No way Luna would be fine with that at all, the leaks making it sound like she is fine with it is just ridiculous)

Sorry about the rant bit there but.. that idea they might have had(before scrapping it) would just made me feel even worse.

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To be fair, killing the princesses could have worked if it had been done well. There's nothing wrong with a heroic sacrifice as a sendoff for a character, although given the abysmal writing the execution would undoubtedly have been a poorly contrived mess.

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I am really mixed on the idea of Luna dying there really.
Even if its some heroic sacrifice, it really depends(and even then it well.. will still affect me pretty much..)

7298711
That's fair. It has to be executed well, and it should hurt to see them go at the end, but if it was done right you'd be left feeling like she proved herself at the end and be satisfied with it.

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Though there is another issue that I had with the retirement bit with Luna would obviously not be remember as much as Celestia due to the lost 1000 years pretty much..
Or the fact she didn't get to make up for those years with how she left Celestia burdoned alone with protecting Equestria due to the NMM mess.

7298722
Welcome to late-season MLP. The more you think about it, the worse it gets.

7298726
Ironically I joined the fandom just a little bit before season 9 started pretty much.

7298732
Frankly, I don't understand how that's even possible. By that point the show was complete shit and the fandom had become a toxic hellhole, so I can't see why anyone would want to join. Watch the early episodes? Sure. Those are timeless and always fantastic. Join with all the garbage? That just makes no sense to me at all.

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I ended up joining the fandom due to randomly finding a Yugioh Zexal/MLP crossover fic based around the season 3 premiere pretty much.
Remembered beforehand about 3 years ago I saw some bits of Nightmare Moon/Luna and changelings too but I didn't join the fandom till early 2019 due to finding that fic randomly.

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Huh. I'll grant that I can see a crossover getting your attention, but that doesn't constitute getting fully into the fandom. I've read a number of crossovers for IPs I haven't even watched/played/read, so I find it surprising you didn't immediately get bounced back out by the show/fandom.

I know for sure that if I had found MLP even during season 4 I wouldn't have joined the fandom because the show would have killed my interest to further engage with the IP. I would have enjoyed the good seasons, been annoyed by the bad, walked away, and never looked back.

7298822
I guess I was focused on some clips and certain fics too after I learned more about the characters.
And probably found some people too.