Series finale reaction · 1:34pm Oct 13th, 2019
It's weird to think that we won't get any more weekly reactions for FiM episodes. Granted, there's another movie in the works, as well as G5, but it won't be the same. Oh, well.
It goes without saying that there are spoilers ahead, so read at your own risk.
I thought “The Ending of the End” was excellent – right up there with “To Where and Back Again” and “Shadow Play.” It might even be as good as “Twilight's Kingdom,” but I'll have to watch it again to be sure. This episode had great humor, especially with Discord, and some of the best action scenes in the entire series. The pacing never felt too rushed to me, and I loved all the callbacks. Each recurring character had something to do – the only ones who were missing were the CMC, but they already had their moment to shine in “School Raze.”
I'm a little disappointed that Grogar wasn't really Grogar, but OTOH it was a surprising twist that I somehow managed to avoid spoilers for (I ended up seeing many more spoilers for “The Last Problem” than “The Ending of the End”). For awhile I thought that Discord's master plan was to reform the villains by getting them to learn the value of friendship, but then I realized I was giving him too much credit, because he didn't give a crap when Sombra died again. And I was certain that the League of Evil would be reformed after the rainbow friendship laser de-powered them. I was one of those in the camp that was glad when Chrysalis didn't become reformed at the end of “To Where and Back Again,” but after she came so close to becoming true friends with Tirek and Cozy, I was convinced that they would finally understand friendship in this episode. Maybe Discord thought they needed to be turned to stone for a few centuries like he was before learning the true meaning of friendship. It's a good fanfic concept, if nothing else.
It's also a bit of a letdown that the three pony tribes turned against each other so easily, but the positive side of it is that it shows how important the School of Friendship is. The ponies and other creatures need to learn how to love each other or they'll slide back into suspicion and paranoia.
All in all, it's one of the better series endings I've seen – probably on the level of “Avatar: The Last Airbender.”
If only that were the ending.
But before I get into that, I'll point out some of the details that jumped out at me:
- Is this the first time they've been called the Mane 6 in the series proper? I'm not sure how I feel about that. 
- Oh, hey, the writers actually remembered that Rarity is a unicorn. And she and Pinkie make a great team.
- Cozy Glow is a hypocrite for criticizing the princesses for relying on magic too much when she is an alicorn, used magic to take away magic, and tried using chaos magic.
- Sigh. Celestia and Luna are still flying even after Cozy supposedly stole their magic. 
I guess Cozy only took their unicorn magic, but it's still annoying to have to work this scene around my headcanon.
- Does Chrysalis not know the difference between a minotaur and a centaur?
- Tirek's father was King Vorak? Is he still alive? Is that why Tirek is merely a lord instead of a king or emperor, even when he basically conquered the world? I am full of questions right now.
- Stygian's absence is noticeable. Didn't Star Swirl invite him? Feeling left out is one of the reasons Stygian went dark the first time. Also, the Pillars could've used a tactician in that fight, so it's very much the Pillars' loss in more ways than one.
- I see Starlight has been practicing her heroic one-liners.
- Chrysalis is darker than she's been in past episodes when she threatens to tear off Spike's wings.
- It feels like the writers went out of their way to say “mud ponies” without actually saying “mud ponies.”
- If I were writing this episode, I would have had the land ponies go into an underground bunker when the windigoes appeared. That way they could at least show that they have their own way of dealing with problems that's different from the other tribes, instead of having no strategy and appearing to be the most vulnerable and powerless.
- Even if the ground ponies seem to be under-performing, it's worth noting that Rockhoof showed a clear sign that his magic was drained from him. Also, how old is Rockhoof? If he reverted to a gawky youth merely from losing his magic, he must not be much older than Stygian (however old he is).
And now for “The Last Problem.”
I'll be brutally honest: this episode is unnecessary. I'm not sorry I watched it, but I felt that “The Ending of the End” was a much higher note to finish with. “The Last Problem” made me more sad than happy, and I disliked more things than I liked. Why did they make Twilight's new student another freaking unicorn with a light-themed name? I was truly hoping that her student would be a changeling, or anything other than a pony – especially a unicorn pony. This kind of favoritism doesn't sit well with me.
I wish they hadn't shown Pinkie and Cheese's foal. I ship them, but it's more fun to imagine my own next gen than to have a canon foal thrust at me at the last minute. Similarly, I would have preferred Big Mac's son, Fluttercord, and Appledash to be left more open to the fans' imagination.
I guess the writers wanted me to feel proud that the Mane 5 ponies were living their dreams, but instead I just felt sad seeing the clearly older mares next to the ageless Twilight. Maybe it's just because I've been having existential thoughts lately, but it felt depressing that the last image of the other five that we see in the TV series is a demonstration of their mortality (not to mention that the unicorn, pegasi, and earth ponies aging at the same rate discredits my earth pony life infusion headcanon). And I noticed that Applejack is wearing Granny Smith's shawl. The implications are clear to me, and ouch, it hits close to home. 
The flashback story made for a decent slice-of-life episode – my only complaint is that it seems weird that the Mane 5 wouldn't move to Canterlot when they're supposed to be helping Twilight lead Equestria . . . Or that Twilight wouldn't just make Ponyville the new capital city since the castle in Canterlot was all but destroyed, but maybe this would have caused too much of an uproar with the Canterlot "elites."
The song was nice, but it sounded a little too similar to “Embrace the Magic.”
Ugh, sorry to end this reaction blog on a low note. I'll watch this episode at least one more time, if only to look for Easter eggs, but I can't see myself revisiting it very often. The flashback was fine, and I did like seeing Gallus as a royal guard, but I'm having a hard time thinking of anything else good to say about “The Last Problem.” If you loved this epilogue episode, more power to you, but it just brought me down. But maybe this is a better episode that I'm giving it credit for and I'm just sad that FiM is over. Also, Discord showed that he could raise the dead in this season – or at least raise the magically disintegrated. Maybe when the Mane 5 die of old age he'll resurrect them in their prime.
And I'll still be on this site for as long as this franchise holds my interest – which should be at least until the promised final EG special airs and the next pony movie is released. Rest assured, there are still more horse stories to tell. 
I actually came up with a story idea exploring that issue earlier today. Don't expect it to jump off the presses, but rest assured, I have a plan.
And yeah, would've been nice to see a better showing from the fundament ponies. They even congregated in Ponyville, disaster capital of Equestria. Did they really not have any better options than "stand around and fret"?
Glad to see I not the only one that thought "The Last Problem" was unneeded. I preferred the higher and more open ended "The End of the End".
Comedy and emotions is what made The Last Problem great. But if that's not your thing, then I guess it makes sense that you wouldn't like it.
5137717
I look forward to reading that post-series fanfic!
5137725
Judging by the comments I've seen, the two of us seem to be in the minority, but I'm glad we're not alone in thinking this.
5137727
See, I thought "The Ending of the End" had more laugh-out-loud moments than "The Last Problem." But at least "The Last Problem" made me feel something, even if it was mostly sadness. I mean, it still made me care about these characters that I've invested so much time with, so that's something.
5137848
Same.
One if the easter eggs I am happy for is the newspaper that showed Lyra and Bonbon tying the knot. I am happy for that one.
It's a nice wrap up for the series, nothing too good. I do admit that Grogar not being Grogar caught me off guard, though it would be nice if Grogar, the real one, was the final boss of the series. Now that you mentioned Stygian, it's a good point. Why he wasn't brought up. Even though there are some things that need more development, it's still a nice ending for the series.
5138438
Nice! That's one of the details I missed.
5138442
Yeah, it was a nice ending overall. Even "The Last Problem" gave me an idea for a fanfic involving Discord resurrecting the dead, although whether I get around to writing it is another matter.
5138717
Another one is during the musical number at the end you can see Sunset Shimmer. Which means she and equestria girls are canon. Not going to lie, I honestly never thought of it as being such before. Means I have to watch those movies eventually lol.
Yeah.
...The implications of that last episode, and how the fanfiction community is reacting to it...
I can't see that as a happy ending.
It's just... so, so cruel.
My only hope for the fanfiction scene lies in the fact that there are still loopholes.
Though so far, no one seems to be exploiting those...
Literally the second post-s9 fic I even dared to read just threw Fluttershy's funeral at me out of nowhere. And the story wasn't even tagged as "sad". It was meant to be a "slice of life" villain reformation story. Like the author just expected this to be the norm.
...I don't know what that'll do to our fanfiction community.
"Twilight is not going to outlive her friends." Who said it was too late for the prophecy to be fulfilled?
images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/359fa84c-4492-4ffc-a3fe-cca85d9f8cd3/ddiihej-2e3b0007-f652-4c0f-a182-ee3a6e961f8c.png/v1/fill/w_851,h_939,q_70,strp/pencil_sketch___it_s_not_too_late_by_ultrathehedgetoaster_ddiihej-pre.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7ImhlaWdodCI6Ijw9MTQxMSIsInBhdGgiOiJcL2ZcLzM1OWZhODRjLTQ0OTItNGZmYy1hM2ZlLWNjYTg1ZDlmOGNkM1wvZGRpaWhlai0yZTNiMDAwNy1mNjUyLTRjMGYtYTE4Mi1lZTNhNmU5NjFmOGMucG5nIiwid2lkdGgiOiI8PTEyODAifV1dLCJhdWQiOlsidXJuOnNlcnZpY2U6aW1hZ2Uub3BlcmF0aW9ucyJdfQ.mi2Ul1haLsF_WviaPSxPmWxA6iXLQAhHAMp4rGk54Lw
[draft, colored version is in the works]
And why does everyone assume Twilight's attempt at reforming the villains could only take place in the distant future, and not simply a few months later?
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[image by unknown uploader]
5144260
I'm glad I'm not alone in my disappointment over the final episode. I saw an interview with Big Jim where he tried to spin it as "well, the episode doesn't say for sure that Twilight will outlive her friends." But there's nothing in the actual episode that hints that she won't outlive them.
I already have an idea for a fanfic that exploits a loophole (involving Discord, naturally), but like you, I am disappointed that I haven't seen any fics that exploit loopholes so far. All of the fanfics I've seen are whole-heartedly embracing "The Last Problem," and I've been finding it hard to read fanfics that are set after the series as a result.
I'm also tempted to write a scene in "Earth Ponies Are Blessed With Suck" about Twilight having a nightmare where she's replacing Celestia and all of her friends are growing old and withering away before her eyes. It would so fit her motivations in that fanfic - but I'm concerned that it would be a little too "on the nose" and kill the readers' sense of immersion.
5144270
"Disappointment" is an understatement. "Completely devastated" hits it more on the head.
I literally have woken up every day for the past week and a half only to realize anew that "yes, they really did that. No, it wasn't a nightmare".
I simply tried to keep my reply brief and more upbeat than... my first and second draft I had for that comment.
Same here.
Barely even seeing any positive fics based on the finale.
I seriously hope there'll be a counter-movement that can sway the tide of negativity.
Those two things weren't even the only issues the final episode created.
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Seriously, how did they not do that? It was so obvious!
If you can make a permanent two-way gateway between two universes, doing so between Canterlot Castle and Ponyville should be trivial - and once the distance is moot, Twilight's friends could drop by whenever they have time in their schedule. Even just to bring a snack and chat for 10 minutes. Or vica versa. Or for Twilight to have a sleepover in Ponyville and return to Canterlot Castle in the morning. Or for Twilight to have her regular 30 minute lunch breaks at Sugar Cube Corner. Yes, Twilight would be busy. But she could always find some time in her schedule, even if it's for half an hour every other day - and not just "keep in touch" once in a moon.
Why would you tear Twilight, the literal Princess of Friendship, away from her friends?!
...Once I finish coloring that "Twilight will not outlive her friends" picture, I'll just flat out set it as my avatar and use it as a "billboard" for anyone passing by any comments or stories I ever posted. Hopefully an efficient way to get the idea out there.
5144287
Heck, I'm trying to figure out if that "portal" idea could still be made compatible with the episode.
There could be a story in that alone.
Maybe the "moonly meetings" are simply for them all meeting up at once, but that doesn't exclude Twilight dropping by Sugar Cube Corner or Sweet Apple Acres (and so on) separately on occasion.
It'd be no different from seeing Pinkie and Rarity coming over to see Fluttershy, but lacking the rest of the group.