On the remainder of season 5 · 4:50pm Nov 30th, 2015
I fell off-track. Shut up.
College is made of fuck. I missed a lot of Doctor Who, lots of pony, lots of other weekly shows I've been trying to get BACK into... the only reason I'm still following Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. so rigidly is because I still HAVE the channel it airs on and set an alarm for when it airs.
But I managed to work up the motivation to sit down before class and work through the last six episodes of season five. Since that means it'll be a bloated blog, I'm putting my thoughts behind a page break.
First up, "Scare Master." The one that leaked and I didn't watch THEN either. The one about Fluttershy finally joining her friends on Nightmare Night.
First off, GRANNY NO YOU'RE NOT HELPING.
Secondly, the costumes are pretty neat. Colgate/Minuette had a nice changeling costume, Spike's was kinda creative, and the other girls have pretty neat ones. I'm not privy to all the pop culture significance each has (there are TONS of lions AJ could be), but they're cool designs.
Also, holy shit they actually MENTION one of the past lessons she learned but doesn't necessarily show most of the time. The one from "Filli Vanilli" about not being nervous about sharing things with your friends or something (I remember so little of S4, honestly).
And oh my god Pinkie's blank stare when taking back the candy. That might be one of the best Pinkie moments in a long time.
That horror house Shy set up would probably actually scare a lot of people. Social anxiety is pretty damned common.
Oh, and Granny's mask.
Oh my god Shy is a genius when pushed to REALLY scare. And she has an awesome team.
And the message is pretty mature. They've actually been doing okay with the lessons lately, even in cases when the presentation of them is lacking.
I'm gonna say this was a winner overall, one of the highlights of the season. Especially given the weak episode it aired after, which is probably part of why I didn't feel super motivated to watch on. But right now, I'm glad I'm taking the time.
Next up, "What About Discord?" Where apparently Discord's bonded with everyone in the time Twilight's been holed up in her house. I actually haven't heard much about this one.
Yeah, they do a good job at first of making it look like Discord oh he's Bob Ross now.
...making it look like he did something while Twilight was organizing. Or at least like he intentionally picked the day Twilight was out to bond with everyone else.
Twilight's STILL trying to science her friendship stuff. the more things change, the more they stay the same.
Holy shit Discord sounded REALLY assholish about his assertion that they couldn't recreate the inside joke because she was there. I mean, in line with his character and all, but still. And of course, she went to the worst-case scenario of "he did something."
Oh, of COURSE he left her out on purpose. I called it.
This one was pretty alright too. I tend to overlook a lot with Discord episodes because I love his performance, and I don't think there were a lot of issues here apart from Twilight going all season-two on her friends. Solid and enjoyable.
Alright, now we're on "The Hooffields and McColts," the TwiShy map episode, based somewhat on a real-life family feud.
Of COURSE Twilight's excited about the call. She geeked out when the other trips happened. And the Smoky Mountains are a new location, which really excites me because world-building.
Okay, Twilight's plan sounds like it'd work, but I've HEARD that she's close to useless and that Fluttershy actually fixes it. And right now, the two families are not in a position to listen to logic and reason.
Hooffields are the farmers, McColts are the builders. Clearly they're supposed to cooperate in that regard. Also explains why the McColts' mountain is so dead-looking.
Trojan cake. That's a Trojan cake isn't it. Yeah it's a Trojan cake. But hey, they're not isolated from each other anymore.
Yup. She's gonna make them feed and shelter the animals. Oh my god it's so obvious.
Yeah, I did like this one, but it was pretty obvious from the get-go where it was going. Which... I guess is something you could say about MOST episodes, but it seemed particularly blatant this time. Good to see Fluttershy being an active help, though.
Getting to the home stretch. Now we've got "The Mane Attraction," about AJ's pop-star friend who's possibly being mistreated by her manager.
Holy SHIT Lena Hall's voice. I mean, it's really odd coming out of a filly, but...
And here's modern-day "Countess Coloratura." And her manager. Yeah, holy shit he's a bitch.
I didn't... MIND her second song, but that really didn't let Hall's voice shine through like it did before. Which was on purpose, so...
That resolved pretty quickly. And the song at the end that padded out the rest... oh my GOD was it worth it.
My favorite episodes are the ones that get me feeling, and oh my god this WORKED in that regard. They were right to play this one up as much as they did, because this one REALLY tugs at the heartstrings. Overall, maybe the strongest of the pre-finale backlog.
Now then... "The Cutie Re-Mark." The season finale, the rumored time travel shenanigans.
And welcome back, Starlight Glimmer. Getting flashy right off the bat.
Yup, I knew this was happening. She stopped them from getting their cutie marks. I saw a few scenarios this resulted in, but now I get to see them up close.
...and Ponyville's fucked. Jesus.
Sombra overtook things. Not surprising, considering how much the mane six had to fix. Though this SHOULD also be perpetually nighttime too, shouldn't it? Unless Celestia DID already know how to stop Nightmare Moon...
Also, this is doing a much better job of making Sombra look like a threat than "The Crystal Empire" did, even if it's just a glimpse.
She is REALLY gonna feel awful once she learns what that bond did for Equestria, isn't she. Maybe if she'd let Twi sit her down to explain shit... but of course, she's not rational.
Oh good, this looks like the changeling one. Forest rebels, though. Neat. So how did they deal with Nightmare Moon HERE? I mean, I'll buy that maybe the circumstances that freed Discord didn't happen, but I'm sure shit like THIS would've freed him easily.
Still, though. It's awesome to see the villains have little comebacks like these. I LOVED the changelings and Chrysalis; my writing resume should make that clear.
Oh, NOW we have the eternal night scenario. And the Everfree Forest is pretty lush now. Seems fitting that we see more of Nightmare Moon than the others.
Oh snap, Tirek. That didn't last. And HERE'S the Discord one.
...really? Flim and Flam?
Oh my god Starlight you CUNT. You petty CUNT.
I called this from the moment she escaped in the premiere. I KNEW they were setting her up for redemption. The fact that that's how they handled the similarly-named Sunset Shimmer made it that much more evident.
But yeah, I think this was a really strong closer. It really cemented how much the gang's done to save Equestria, it gave a major villain a chance to redeem herself for the first time since Discord, and it was awesome seeing all the alternate dystopian futures. Whether Starlight Glimmer becomes part of the core cast like some people have theorized remains to be seen, but I can say for certain that we'll see her again. Personally, while I wouldn't mind seeing her learn as Twilight did, I think it'd be fitting for her to return to her village and make things right on a bigger scale than the one clip we were given.
That settles all that. See you again for the next F/F/T3K15 update, for whenever I update "Digital Harmony," and for season six.
I love how they did the season finale. But I am hoping that they develop Starlight more in season 6
The finale was strong up until Starlight's redemption. It felt rushed and half-assed. They should've locked her up and then redeemed her in the Season 6 premiere, so she wouldn't be as much of a karma Houdini.