The Summer Sun Setback Review (Spoilers for American Fans!) · 7:58pm Jul 15th, 2019
Well, unless the synopsis for the next several episodes get revealed soon, next weekend will mean that the upcoming early Chinese releases will be completely blind. We won't know what to expect until they've aired. Anyway, after a disaster of an episode last time, and a not too spectacular episode before it, Season 9's fate is looking bleak. But to get things back on track it looks like they brought in the big guns, Michael Vogel. Vogel's most recent writing endevor was "Best Gift Ever" an enjoyable special that mostly made up for the duds of Season 8, but seemed at times like it didn't know that what it was doing already happened in Season 8 (Flim and Flam's return, Discord being a jerk for the sake of being a jerk, and Pinkie Pie leaving Ponyville for Yakaykistan all come to mind). He's been a mostly solid writer, but last season did see him pen "The Mean 6" which was a waste of an episode that accomplished nothing other than reducing Chrysalis to the level of an 80's cartoon villain. Was Vogel able to keep his streak of good writing started up again in "What Lies Beneath" alive, or has even he lost his touch? Well, let's find out.
We begin with Grogar leaving, which gives the Legion of Doom a chance to figure out how to control the bewitching bell they've hidden from Grogar. Cozy Glow suggests they go to Canterlot and raid the Canterlot Archives, passing it off as a road trip, to which Chrysalis and Tirek agree. Seems they've come a long way from not listening to Cozy at all.
Meanwhile in Canterlot, Twilight is planning what will be the last Summer Sun Celebration, because with Celestia and Luna stepping down from the throne they no longer feel the holiday is needed. They're also surprised to find out that Twilight is calm and not freaking out. She's even gone and delegated responsibility out to other ponies, and even Spike isn't worried. Heck, even Twilight's friends seem surprised that she's so calm and not freaking out. Not even the sudden arrival of Discord can truly unnerve Twilight, she has no concerns giving him a note card telling him not to do anything Discordry for the duration of the celebration. It's a long overdue change for the better that finally lets Twilight show off her character growth that Season 8 ripped up and Season 9 up to this point has mostly been ignoring.
Chrysalis tries to sneak into the archives, but thanks to Shining Armor's increased security her attempt fails. The guards however don't seem to suspect anything when it does, which you'd think that after they were so easily duped during a test of the new security system they would've learned to be more alert.
However, after Discord and the rest of the mane six all split off to do their assignments (Twilight is given a practice session with the sun and moon amulet, really makes me wonder why the heck Celestia and Luna didn't do it the last time they left her in charge), Cozy Glow sees the preparations for the celebration as the perfect opportunity to slip in unnoticed. The goal is to create chaos and sneak in during the distraction. To that end, Tirek starts draining magic from various earth ponies, including Braeburn (not exactly sure why they brought him back, Big Macintosh could've filled the same role). Chrysalis plants seeds of doubt in the minds of the unicorns doing a fireworks display, and Cozy Glow takes care of the weather. But I really have to question why no one sent word out before she went to tartarus that she was now an enemy of Equestria? She already slipped under everyone's noses once before.
Everything starts to break down, but Twilight's friends are afraid that she'll freak out if she learns what's going on. So they lie to her and pretend nothing's wrong so that they can try to fix it all by themselves. To be fair, they kind of succeed a little. But not enough to where they can get everything back to normal before Twilight shows up, and she is anything but pleased.
Fortunately, Twilight truly has changed and learned not to freak out. She's realized that panicing won't solve anything, which is very true. That's why they always say that in an emergency the most important thing to do is not to panic, when you panic you don't think straight. Remaining calm allows you to think clearly about the situation and determine what to do, plus it prevents others from doing the same. She still loves a to do list though, and Celestia and Luna actually get to do something and help out. Even Discord pitches in. It's nice to have the royal sisters do something that doesn't involve arguing, spouting exposition, or getting captured.
The Legion of Doom are still able to exploit the confusion and sneak into the archives, making off with a book on the bewitching bell (how convinent). Meanwhile, the Summer Sun Celebration goes off without a hitch, and Twilight declares that from now on it will be known as the Celebration of the Two Sisters, which is a touching dedication and a nice way to honor their legacy after they're no longer ruling Equestria. Then Twilight talks to her friends, confirming that indeed she has changed and they all apologize for not believing her. But honestly, the way she'd been acting in episodes prior, I don't blame them. Which just shows why it's a good thing Twilight has outgrown this, if ponies no longer trust her with knowledge about things for fear it might make her freak out, then that means she isn't fit to be a leader.
Meanwhile, The Legion of Doom have returned to Grogar's lair and it seems Grogar has found an alternative to his bewitching bell. He says he'll return tomorrow, and the Legion of Doom start scheming to master the bell and betray him. They also comment how easy it was to turn all the ponies against each other. I'm still waiting to see their backstabbing attempt ultimately backfire, Grogar seems far too powerful and smart for them to succeed. And something tells me he won't be as forgiving as G1 Megatron was whenever Starscream kept trying to take over.
And that's the story, so what do I think of the episode? Well, if "A Trivial Pursuit" was all about how annoying and insulting Twilight's freak outs were becoming to her character then this episode is all about her (hopefully) finally moving past it and developing into a competent leader. No freak outs, she is able to stay calm and handle a situation should one develop. Discord's inclusion feels the slightest bit out of place since even he decides not to tell Twilight, and is perfectly content to take orders from her not to act up. He feels like more of an observer than anything else, which would be nice if they tried to do more with it (maybe make him like The Watcher from Marvel). I also find it just the slightest bit irksome that apparently word hasn't gotten out that Cozy Glow is a traitor, even if they didn't anticipate her getting out of tartarus you'd think they would want to make sure ponies knew the truth about her. Chrysalis and Tirek are understandable, you can't really plan for them and they haven't exactly made themselves known. But I feel like the defeat of the castle security systems was a little too easy, I might have liked it if the whole episode was on the Legion of Doom trying to break in only to be constantly thwarted, and then in the end lucking out and getting the book. This feels like a better take on the B plot of "Between Dark and Dawn" that is also sharing a plot with the sequel of "Frenemies", but the two plots only barely connect and it feels like both could've been their own episodes put back to back (they've done it before and could've done so again, especially if it meant cutting out a filler episode or two). Still, there's so much this episode does right, which is why I give it an A+. It's just below "Frenemies" for the best episode of the season though, because "Frenemies" was the villain team-up episode we'd always wanted and it worked because the villain's actions were occurring in a place where our heroes weren't around to notice.
Now, chances are the rest of the episodes up until the finale are going to be filler episodes, with only a few of them being devoted to giving each remaining member of the mane six (and potentially some side characters) a last hurrah in the spotlight. "She Talks to Angel" is the first of them and as of now is the last episode we have a synopsis for. It's pretty much a body swap episode with Fluttershy and Angel, and Zecora's coming back. But we'll just have to see if the episode can give Fluttershy a good send off.
While this episode was a lot of fun thanks to the villains antics, I actually enjoyed a few other episodes (including Trivial Problem) a bit more.
It's still in the upper half so far, though.
I'd be more open to Season 9 if it weren't for the ridiculous concept of Celestia and Luna retiring. I mean, what the heck!? It just comes out of the blue with no build up to it from the previous seasons. Especially considering Luna hasn't even been back from her 1000 year banishment for even a decade! It's completely unfounded! It'd be better if it were some type of ruse to get Grogar and the other villains out of hiding or something like that, but I can't take them actually retiring seriously.
Eh, what'd I tell you? Twilight's characterization in this episode feels like an apology for how she was written in the previous episode, if not most of the season, and based on your positive reception I think it's safe to say you've heavily accepted it. I guess the Trivia Trot incident was finally the wake up call she needed to realize how badly her freak outs could cause harm to those around her. Now we can only hope the writers will allow her growth to stick for these last few episodes and not have her relapse as some kind of joke towards the fans like "Psych! You thought we were done with Twilight's freak outs for good, but nope! LOL"
Why do I have a feeling we're headed towards a "Civil War"?
The line, "You and your friends have proven that you are ready to lead Equestria" from Celestia pissed me off.
NO, THEY HAVE NOT! 
What on Earth convinced Celestia of that? If the previous episode in this storyline ("Between Dawn and Dusk") proved anything, it's that Twilight is not ready to lead Equestria. And this episode glosses over all of the progress Twilight's made by having it told to us rather than shown, and this character flaw of her freaking out was resolved years ago, long before "Games Ponies Play" because 90% of her episodes are about her learning not to worry so much and to ust relax and take a chill pill!! "Stop worrying about the future and focus on the here and now. Let the future take care of itself." Even so, I would've liked to have seen her overcome this flaw rather than being told. This just makes it look like they're rushing through the season, trying to get through it as fast as possible without bothering to put forth any effort because "hey, it's the last season, why bother trying since the show's ending?" (Then again, they haven't: been trying since season six!) And that shouldn't be the case. Rather than having episodes like "Going to Seed", "Student Council", "That's a Laugh", "A Trivial Pursuit", or "2 4 6 Greaaat" they should've had episodes focusing on Twilight learning what it means to be a leader and all of the responsibilities that come with it instead of just glossing over it with a couple of lines.
Ahem, aside from that stupidity in writing, I rather enjoyed this episode it certainly made me start liking Chrysalis, Cozy, and Tirek as a team and got me eager to see what's coming up next. I especially loved the piece of music that played during the montage near the end of the episode, as well as this shot.
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5089214. Same here. At the very least you would expect Luna and Celestia ro discuss this idea with Twilight and Cadance over the course of several weeks or even months to see if they even agree to such a drastic idea in the first place due to the massive shift in power it will cause. If they agree, the siblings will formally begin to train Twilight in the world of politics, something that the latter has shown to be severely lacking in experience onscreen due to all of her other obligations. After training, they will gradually ease their own obligations to her or even Cadance over time so that the siblings can retire without worry. But, no, they don't do that. Instead, they just drop the bombshell that they are retiring in a few days right after summoning the Mane Six without even consulting Twilight about it. Sure enough, Twilight freaks out over the massive responsibility being dumped on her and is left a wreck after the announcement. After that, she hastily scrambles to make sure that her previous obligations will be taken care of once she takes the throne. At the very least they're following through with Faust's original vision.
5089243
What are you talking about? Twilight hasn't been a problem this season except in "A Trivial Pursuit." I could at least understand the meaning behind her actions in "2, 4, 6, Greaaat."
5089354
I certainly hope so, because that would be awesome!
5089406
I guess I was just speaking on behalf of the fans who, like SPB12, felt that all Twilight did for a good chuck of this season was freak out.
What is this? Twilight being calm? That hasn't happened since before she got her wings. This episode felt slightly nostalgic to me (Since you know, Summer Sun Celebration and all that.) and Twilight being calm and finally realizing that panicking just doesn't work brought me back the older days when Twilight wasn't a princess. I can't wait to see how this much calmer Twilight will handle things in the future. Now all we need is the Mane Six sitting down together and having a picnic like they did before "Alicorn Twilight". Yup, I still miss those days.
Did I think the episode was great? Yes.
Do I think that the Frenemies succeed in outwitting Grogar? To be honest, I feel they'll either:
1. betray his takeover scheme and turn good one by one.
2. will be cast into oblivian with Grogar, after submitting to him, (honestly, I think he's already onto them.)
3. Grogar will reveal he was Celestia and Luna's backup scheme to devillainize the three, making them think, they'd be better villains together, but ultimately showing freindship is what they all needed all along, and they turn good anyways.
Do I feel everything the Princesses are doing for their planned retirement is necessary? Not a bit. They could still do the rising of the Sun and Moon, and just be seen as gaurdians of day and night, eventually fading into a sort of myth like state, like Nightmare Moon did. Seriously, why are they handing over the one thing that defines who they are, be they royal or not? And Luna, she could still visit the dream realm. I mean, not to the extent of what she does now, but perhaps have a little more harmless fun. Give whoever takes the dream caretaker role a gallop for their bits.
Do I think Cozy Glow should be taken out of the equation? Certainly.
Do I think Nightmare Moon should return? Most definately. She started it all, so she can be the one to put an end to the villainous ways. I think she has much more power then fans give her credit for.
5089418 Except the only times she did that was back in "The Beginning of the End" and "A Trivial Pursuit." Freaking out is kind of her thing because she's super OCD. She's been doing it since season two. Considering what she has coming ahead, I can't say I blame her for freaking out.
5089552
I'd prefer the second option..while I definitely won't tule outbthe first as an option, I cannot say the same for option three. Sorry, but I just can't see that happening.
Agreed! There's no reason for this! Just because they're stepping down as the rulers of Equestria does not mean that they have to abandon their royal duties entirely.
I think she should be taken out period, especially after what she did.
Nightmare Moon has already reappeared once before. I can't see them bringing her back. If they do, they'd need a very good reason. But seeing as how these writers operate on "fan pandering" logic, I'm sure they will bring her back for some arbitrary reason just to pander to the fans.
5089513
Which, as I've said, is something that she should've gotten over years ago! And we did see her do just that, in "Games Ponies Play" and even before that we saw her overcoming this flaw. But in this episode? She just magically got over it!
Honestly, that and Celestia's line at the beginning really pissed me off! 
5089702
I'm well aware of that, and I do agree that she had a valid reason to freak out in the season premiere. Once again, I was talking about how some fans like SPB12 have felt that more than 50% of Twilight's screen-time this season has been dedicated solely to having her freak out just so the animators can produce some new meme faces before the series ends.
5089823 Which isn't true. The only times she's freaked out were in "The Beginning of the End" and "A Trivial Pursuit." And the animators have always done crazy faces, even as far back as season one. Shows like Ren & Stumpy, Rocko's Modern Life, and SpongeBob SquarePants did this stuff all the time. (And SpongeBob SquarePants still does it!) Why then should MLP be the odd one out and be criticized for it?
5090047 Maybe because we expect more from them? Maybe because the show isn't just about making funny faces for the sake of memes? Heck, Ren and Stimpy wasn't just about that and neither was Spongebob Squarepants.
5090190 That's true. This is why so many old fans prefer the old seasons rather than the new ones.
At the beginning, I wished that Twilight acknowledged the odd trivia night to show that she still has ways to go when it comes to knowledge-based things. Glad that Twilight made improvements with handling the situations throughout the episode. I'm also glad that it wasn't that easy for the villains to sneak into the castle. Even though the villains got what they needed, at least the security was improved. I was surprised that the only pony who was ''twilighting" was that pegasus stallion who was in charge of the weather. I agree that Cozy should've been known since she was responsible for draining the magic from Equestria. I guess it was kept secret that a ''little filly" was that close of ruling Equestria. When I watched the episode, it reminded me of "Saddle Row Review" where Rarity was kept in the dark while the rest of her friends were fixing the problems. This episode also reminded me of "Horse Play" where Celestia wasn't told that she was a bad actor to prevent her from hurting her feelings. I felt really bad for Applejack as she had to go against her own element of harmony and no pony listens to her. Maybe the writers will address that in another episode. Discord was still decent in this episode than he was behaving in Season 8. For the last part of the episode where Cozy talked about how easy it was to make the ponies turn against each other, my guess is that the villains will cause conflict to the ponies and maybe even the other creature kingdoms as well. For the next episode, I get the feeling it will be similar to Freaky Friday.
5090047
And The Point of No Return, and part of Between Dark and Dawn.
5111058 I don't recall her freaking out in those episodes.
5111111
She was freaking out about not returning a book in time and she was stressed out throughout ep 13 because of the royal responsibilities. The Twilighting was more prominent in the premier and A Trivial Pursuit, but it was still present in these two episodes.
5111113 And yet in this episode Twilight is now hyper-matured and rational . . . right after last week's episode. . . . What the hell kind of writing is this where you have to spell out that a character has grown and developed? is there anyone left who knows how to write proper character development? Anywhere? Yes, it makes sense that she SHOULD be at this point . . . but placing this episode right after one where she freaks out over a stupid trivia game really doesn't fit. And are the Mane 5 really thinking that low of Twilight? Oh, wait, that's because of what we got recently. I would argue past ventures such as No Second Prances at least had Twilight worried about Celestia's expectations which is something I think even this late into the show she would struggle with. Not things like an overdue book or a trivia show. All this just feels so forced. Most of this season does. I mean, it's almost as if wasting the season on townie bullshit instead of building up the Legion of Doom was a bad idea.
I'd say that even fanfics had better writing than this, but sadly almost all fic writers on this site either follow and copy the show religiously or they've all left this site. There were plenty of people who sort of did their own thing back in the day, but they're basically all gone at this point.
5111116
t's not that she suddenly changed. She even said aside from the odd trivia night, meaning that she didn't suddenly change. It's just that she's at different levels of stability in different situations.
Also, of course the season would mostly be townie stuff. This is still a slice of life show, as much as everyone wants the show to be a serialized show heavy on lore and worldbuilding or whatever.
They really don't. Most at least.
5111225
Don't know who you've been talking to, but most of the people that I've talked to have said that the lore and worldbuilding is what drew them into the show in the first place. The fact that the show staff have pretty much completely done away with that aspect of this show is really disappointing. And the fact that we're concerning ourselves with what's going on in Ponyville rather than what's going on with the villains is also extremely disappointing and a huge problem with this season.
5111422
Exactly. And I'm saying that's not a good thing. Good lore and worldbuilding doesn't make a good story. It's the story, characters, and themes that matter. And the writers have been building up the villain plot, just dispersed throughout the season. If you were expecting season 9 to just have every episode going back and forth between the heroes and villains as the serialized plot gradually builds up to the finale, you're not watching the right show. Season 9 hasn't been disappointing. Far from it. It's been one of the best. What matters in a show like this isn't really the grand overall plot, it's the individual episode quality (I mean, you could argue overall stuff matters somewhat, but not as much as the quality of each episode for sure).
5111473
No, they have not. They're only dedicated two episodes to this plot. Don't worry, though. This gets ruined in the series finale where it's revealed that Grogar was actually Discord all along.
Uh . . . what?
Why in the hell would nobody expect that? That's what expected of a writer when they do this storyline. That's what you're supposed to do in a story like this! Do you think the Sam Raimi Spider-Man movies or the Harry Potter series would be nearly as engaging if we weren't constantly seeing what the villains were up to? You get that all the time in these kinds of stories. Hell, even The Powerpuff Girls did this all the time. In My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic if you're going to go through the trouble of creating an overarching storyline involving past villains coming together to take dkwn the good guys, you've got to dedicate more than two episodes to them. You've got to do more. You've got to make it worthwhile. If you don't, then you have people complaining asking, "What was the point of them doing this if they weren't going to bother doing anything with it?" Hell, even the characters themselves do this in "Frenemies." Also, if you don't use the villain plot to its full potential and just dedicate only a couple of episodes to it, then you end up rushing things in the finale, like in the series finale where it's revealed that Discord was masquerading as Grogar all alomg and the villains are dealt with in literally ten seconds flat! Unfortunately, these new writers don't understand good storytelling, nor do they care about the show. They're just doing this for a paycheck and that's it. The old writers understood how to tell a good story with an overarching plotline, as we saw throughout seasons four and five. Yes, those plots were sprinkled throughout those seasons as well, but what makes those seasons different from this season is that those writers knew that those episodes had to be strictly stand-alone and thus they used them to their advantage. These new writers, on the other hand, couldn't give less of a fuck about the show or their fans so the twist of Discord being Grogar all along at the end feels like the writers giving a giant "fuck you" to the fans.
Season 9 started out good, despite them ruining Sombra's characterization, but the latter half has royally sucked ass.
Yes, the grand overall plot does matter, especially if you're doing an overarching plot throughout a season. This is basic writing 101. The quality of the individual episodes doesn't mean jack shit if they're not building up to a satisfying conclusion regarding the overarching plot. We've seen how badly this can happen when this isn't adhered to with this very season. I can literally count on one hand the amount of episodes this season that had anything to do with the overarching plot of this season. You know, the thing that this season is supposed to be about? (By the way, the answer is three out of seventeen episodes that have aired so far, at lwast in the US. Only three episodes out of seventeen aired episodes, again at least in the US, have had anything to do with the overarching plot of the season!)
5111638
That's what I meant when I said dispersed. The writers didn't need many episodes to build up the villain plot. It is a simple plot afterall. It would've been much worse if they just stretched it out over like, half the season.
But it's mlp. Of course it's going to mostly be a slice of life show, even if there are serialized aspects. It's actually great. Too many shows change completely in style after a certain point. Mlp decided to have a plot with all the villains coming together even though it wasn't the focus of the season because having it in the background keeps it fresh every time something happens, and it builds up hype for the finale well. Actually, the villain episodes are kind of like the two parters. They're so awesome because that style of writing is rare in the show, and if it happened in a more adventure/action focused show, it wouldn't feel as special or cool. And a villain team up is a fun idea, whether or not it's used a lot in the season.
Sure, the overall plot does matter, but not so much so that if the villain plot is kept to the side, it makes the season suck. Would you prefer a season that focuses on the overall plot well and has an average episode quality of 6/10 or a season that only focuses a little on the overarching plot and has an average episode quality of 9/10? Also, what you mentioned is a main problem of serialized shows. If everything is focused on the overarching plot, then each episode is just a small part of one long story, so each episode doesn't have a satisfying conclusion of its own. With what season 9 has been doing, it's had satisfying endings to every episode, and yet still has been subtly building up the overarching plot. Think about what the villain plot is. The evil trio found Grogar's Bell and became friends. They then found a book to master the bell. That's it. If that plot was stretched across the whole season, a lot of episodes would just end on cliffhangers and not feel satisfying to watch on their own. Not to mention the pacing would slow to a snail's pace. You could argue the plot should be more complicated, but considering what the plot is, having very little focus on the villains and mostly just wrapping up loose ends with the good guys is a great storytelling choice. And Season 9 has certainly been effective with that.
Also, no, more than 2 episodes have been focused on the overarching plot.
5111653
No, the central focus of the season was the plot of Twilight taking over as ruler of Equesteia, yet another plot that got sidelined.
No, it doesn't. Would Star Wars, Harry Potter, or Avatar: The Last Airbender have been as good had they not constantly been building up to their finales.
Avatar: The Last Airbender did this and it did it brilliantly and it's why it's hailed as one of the greatest animated shows ever created, if not of all-time. Every episode was a story in its own right, yet it contributed to the overarching plot and developed the characters. There were only a few episodes that didn't do this, though. (For example, "The Painted Lady", "The Ember Island Players", among some others.)
Honestly, this was a problem that I had with a lot of episodes from season four.
There have literally been only three episodes that have been related to the overarching plot of the season: "Frenemies", "Between Dark and Dawn", and "The Summer Sun Setback." Every other episode has been focused on everyday stuff.
5111771
When I say focus, I mean even though it didn't have much screentime. And the princess plot hasn't really been sidelined. Quite a few episodes have contained that ruler plot.
The difference is that those pieces of fiction are works built around the overarching plot, yet with mlp, it's meant to be more of a side thing because the final season is mostly focused on wrapping up loose ends with our main and supporting cast, which I think is a fine approach.
Season 4? Why? Each key episode had its own story.
The episodes that have contained elements of the overarching plot, even if just to a small degree, have been: The Beginning of The End (premier, obviously), possibly Uprooted (related to the tree), Sparkle's Seven (set up the defenses), The Point of No Return (mentioned Celestia cleaning to prepare for retirement), Frenemies (villain episode), Between Dark and Dawn (had a B plot with Twilight preparing to become leader), The Summer Sun Setback (focused on the villains and Twilight becoming leader), and to an extent, A Horse Shoe-In, with Starlight becoming new headmare, even if it didn't really focus on the overarching plot itself. And I haven't even seen any episodes past 20, so there might be another or two that contained plot elements. But from the current list, that's 8 episodes out of 20. Not bad. And I might be forgetting some other episode that had some plot elements.
5111908
I meant more like episodes such as "Power Ponies", "Bats”, "Castle-Mania", and others. All of them ended on a cliffhanger without a satisfying conclusion and were never brought up again.
Episode 21 is a Daring Do episode. Episode 22 is a Cutie Mark Crusaders episode. Episode 23 is a Big Mac episode. Episodes 24 and 25 are going to be the conclusion to the season-long story arc. And episode 26 is going to be an epilogue "where are they now" episode of sorts.My fear with the finale is that it's going to feel extremely rushed, Discord, after starting a war due to his plan with Chrysalis, Tirek, and Cozy Glow failing, helps Celestia and Luna tuen tbem to stone in ten seconds flat.
5111916
Power Ponies didn't end on a cliffhanger. It was just the book disappearing because the quest was done. As for Bats, that was just supposed to be a jokes of sorts, I'm pretty sure. And I think the Castle Mania figure at the end was Tirek. And all the 3 episodes did still have a satisfying conclusion. Those "cliffhangers" were only after the story had concluded.
I'm not gonna read any of that, so I don't have anything to say about it, except that maybe the finale will be rushed, and maybe it won't. Only time will tell. Also, do you have anything to say about the fact that 8 out of 20 episodes have been related to the overarching plot?
5111939
Honestly, there might be some truth to this theory.
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No.
5112212
Yes, I am 90% sure that is him.
No because you admit that season 9 has been appropriately been building up the overarching plot, or no because you don't think that's good enough?
5112241 i would like for there to be more episodes devoted to this plot to give it proper build-up.
5112411
I think there's been plenty of focus, but to each their own.
5112212 Well, here's the thing. One reviewer mentioned that originally The Pony of Shadows was going to be the Season 4 finale villain, but it was changed to Tirek to celebrate the franchise's 30th anniversary. I don't know if The Pony of Shadows would've been the same as what we ultimately got in Season 7.
As for the season arc itself and this episode, surprisingly this is the second most plot driven season of the entire show, just behind Season 5. Even Season 8 with its school theme almost never tied into that theme. I do have to agree that we really don't need filler episodes like "The Point of No Return" or "A Trivial Pursuit" when we could be getting more episodes focused on building up the villains, especially in light of what we now know to be the end game.
5112930
Season 5 didn't have much of a plot going on at all. Season four was much more plot-droven than season five was. The most season five had going for it plot-wise were a couple of significant events happening in the background, which first-time viewers would easily miss, and they're even easy to miss on repeated viewings if you're not paying attention. Several people didn't spot Starlight in the background of either "Amending Fences" or "What About Discord."
Exactly! The problem that everyone had with season eight carried over into season nine. They clearly did not learn from their mistakes with season eight.
5112955 Ever since Season 4 it's always felt like there were some episode that were meant for the season prior that never got made in time. Episodes like "She's All Yak" and "Student Counsel" felt like they could've easily fit into Season 8 if not for the new clubhouse.
Heck, M. A. Larson confirmed in an interview years ago that "Magic Duel" was going to be in Season 2, which is why Sweetie Belle's nightmare night costume had the alicorn amulet. It was bumped to Season 3. And I suspect that given Twilight's magic aura color in "Luna Eclipsed" and how inconsistent it was I suspect it was planned for Season 1 and got shelved pretty late into production.
5112958
Exactly my point.
I didn't notice any inconsistency with Twilight's magic aura in that episode, mainly because she barely used it.
5112960 Another problem with this season is not knowing when to stop. Pinkie had the perfect end point with "The Last Laugh", she didn't need "A Trivial Pursuit" for her final outing if all it did was make her a complete idiot. Daring Do didn't need another episode that she barely did anything in, and Fluttershy didn't need another episode to herself after "She Talks to Angel". We'll see if "Growing Up is Hard to Do" was a better conclusion for the CMC than "The Last Crusade" (I kind of doubt it but you never know).
5112965
I hated both of these episodes.
5113033 Yes.
Nice to see Twilight not freaking out; the villains made this a fun episode.
I don’t know why, but while I do appreciate Twilight’s displayed character growth in this episode, for some reason...she just seemed to be more of a shell than the pony I know and love. Everything relateable about her was gone.