The Oddity of Season Eight · 7:39pm Dec 15th, 2019
Blog Number 66: The "Pick Your Classes Carefully" Edition
Finally, I've been catching up and watching Season Eight - watch-ing because I'm still not technically finished - and I'm about 20 episodes done (I skipped a few, because like hell am I going to watch that random "Sugar Belle Big Mac" ascended fanfic crack-ship nonsense).
In brief: thank goodness for the Student Six, because they're usually the only reason some episodes are not 100% unwatchable.
This is a big post, but then I've been sitting on some of this for so long, I just want to get it out there already. As usual, contents page is below so you can get a good idea of what to expect.
Season Eight's Biggest Oddity
The Good Eps of Season Eight
- "Grannies Gone Wild"
- "Surf and/or Turf"
- "The Parent Map"
- "Molt Down"
- "The Hearth's Warming Club"
- "Friendship University"/"The End in Friend" (Special Mentions)
- "Road to Friendship"
- "The Washouts"
- "A Rockhoof and a Hard Place"
- "What Lies Beneath"
Verdict on Season Eight
And Lastly, A Personal Update As A Fanficker
Season Eight's Biggest Oddity
Let's start with the bad stuff, because I want to get that off my chest. I'm sure lots of ink has been spilled over this, but I'll say it anyway: the idea of a School of Friendship is so sloppy, misguided, and desperately gimmicky that it's actually painful to watch certain episodes. It's abominable, and it never got better for me no matter how much I tried to give it a fair chance.
But OK. Let's, for the sake of bending over backwards, ignore the "White Man's Burden" implication that only ponies understand friendship, and that other species just don't and need educating1. Let's also, to bend so far backwards that our spines risk snapping, assume that you can teach friendship whilst sitting in a classroom at all, and not as an organic part of day-to-day living that has to be experienced. Let's try and be nice, and grant the writers that "friendship" as a concept can be taught in education.
1 This was already a reductive, needless idea in "The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone", and that was only (retroactively) applied to one species. You bet I'm not enthused seeing it applied to practically every damn species.
Here's the problem: you could maybe have a social science or humanities class about the concept of friendship at best. A topic in an existing, broader subject, maybe. If we're stretching it to breaking point, a single class of its own in the humanities department, crossing over maybe with philosophy and ethics, or ways to live one's life.
A whole goshdarned school, though? Get outta here.
It gets worse. A whole school, moreover, taught by non-qualified teachers, most of whom already have time-consuming jobs or prior duties? Set to a needless and boring anti-racist theme that's really the only concrete reason the bureaucratic villain is in any sense a villain2? Recruiting random characters whose disappearance is somehow such a big deal that the species responsible threaten war over it, thereby even proving that excuse-of-a-racist-villain could actually be right!?
2 I'm not just saying that because Maurice LaMarche is the only other good thing in the double-parters besides the Student Six. Seriously, the demonization of his character was so over-the-top dark and foreboding I actually found myself liking him for "Evil Is Cool" reasons. Plus, it's hard to dislike someone who feels this school should be axed.
No. Just no.
The whole thing reeks of careless, thoughtless writing - sorry, "cartoon logic" - and nothing shown in the double parters convinced me otherwise (yes, I watched them both, though I think the word "endured" would be more apt). The closest I got to comprehending it was the convoluted history lesson about the Elements and the Tree of Harmony and their effect on history3 in "What Lies Beneath". Need I remind you that this was basically history?
3 Although this has the dispiriting side-effect of reminding me what a random tangle that particular lore has become. Honestly, if there's one thing I've disliked about the worldbuilding over the years, it's how much it throws the "Magic A is Magic A" aspect of Season One clean out the window. Case in point: cutie marks and magic.
And now let's stop bending over backwards, because the "White Man's Burden" implication that only ponies understand friendship, and that other species just don't and need educating, is awful. Plus, you could make a great case that you can't teach friendship whilst sitting in a classroom at all. That it is, in fact, an organic part of day-to-day living that has to be experienced. "Friendship" as a concept can be taught in education. "Friendship" as an experience has to be goddamn lived, and we've got seven prior seasons of a show, based around the idea of experiencing and learning it in day-to-day life organically4, to prove that.
4 Yes, the Friendship Letters and other forms of journalism could count as material for teaching others, but they're add-ons at the end of twenty minutes of letting the lessons play out. Most of them are the equivalent of sending your auntie postcards about what cool stuff you saw on holiday. It's not exactly a way of teaching people how to have a holiday, and it sure as sugar is not the same as having an actual holiday. Also, good luck using postcards in class to teach about the magic of going to Hawai'i.
Long story short, I don't love the overarching arc of Season Eight. You're going to have to sell Season Nine really persuasively, people, because this was a trainwreck. Even if I can salvage something from the ruins, I don't want to think of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic as a trainwreck.
The Good Eps of Season Eight
But hey, it's not all bad news. Salvage I did, and I do in fact have a selection of much-liked episodes to look back on. Even in the two-parters (and some other episodes I dare not mention in case I suddenly start ranting like a rabid, axe-wielding maniac), the Student Six were saving graces. Granted, they're not the deepest of characters. They're likeable. Likeable counts for a lot at this stage.
So, here we go. Celebrating the good stuff and coming out of this with a smile, let's give it up for...
"Grannies Gone Wild"
Keep in mind it took me until Episode Five to find an ep I actually liked, and you get some idea of the drop in enthusiasm I suffered going into this. Even Season Six gave me something entertaining by the third attempt. But anyway, I digress.
I'm gonna admit that two of the four grannies present were just sort of there, considering we hadn't really seen them since Season Three. I don't remember Aunt Applesauce being so ready to hit on random stallions, though - she struck me more in her debut as someone a bit stuck-up and vain about their appearance - so it's not "way out there" per se, but it struck me more as weird than funny. And I don't know what to make of Apple Rose, either. Only Granny Smith and Goldie Delicious - who have been in enough episodes to leave a definite impression - really sold Team Granny for me.
Anyway, the good stuff: this was a really fun episode. Rainbow's motivation for getting on this rollercoaster was modest, but I thought it worked. Who better to get hyped over such an over-the-top ride as that? (Though when did it become a Wonderbolt tradition? I'm willing to bet rollercoasters didn't exist in General Firefly's era). And of course Rainbow's inclined enough to take anything Wonderbolts-related as Serious Business, so we got the amusing low stakes paired with the right pony to blow them out of proportion, up to and including magic act sabotage via being stupid. Good times!
Leading, of course, to the irony of Rainbow Dash raining on the fun of a bunch of old people who suddenly are the ones who know how to have a good time. Also, the Applejack ghost head never stopped being funny for me. And it's welcome to see the old Las Pegasus setting again. I thought all the elements came together splendidly and worked fine.
Also, I'm given to understand that was Trixie's father in the magic show. Add him to the list of characters I suddenly want to write for.
I got no major complaints. Just a lot of comfortable fun to watch.
"Surf and/or Turf"
Scootaloo! 
Do I even need to say more?
Oh, all right then, but I think I can safely say Scootaloo's love of swimming as a proxy for flying gave me the most warm, fuzzy feeling, and I can't be harsh on a pony ep that does that.
This is, in fact, quite a gentle, almost excessively twee episode, and the fact that it appears to be a coded message about (amicably) divorced parents and their conflicted child5, whilst also granting us a glimpse into two fantasy worlds of very different styles and charms, and throwing in Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo arguing the toss over which is the coolest. I found myself drawn to this episode in a way that doesn't seem to happen very often, even in this show. It's probably just the double-whammy novelty factor (I admit I haven't seen the movie, nor do I really want to), or the fact that it's actually a really pleasant outing for the Cutie Mark Crusaders (a coded divorce episode where the main protagonists facing it are children? Now that's something special). I also quite liked Twilight's getting into the spirit of each world - a good but not excessive way to deploy her intellectualism, I thought.
5 My only major complaint is that we never see Silverstream. Her reaction to all this would have been the perfect cherry on top.
Terramar was nice enough, though a minor complaint of mine is that he's a little flat as a character. Like, I got the sense of what kind of nutcase Silverstream is pretty quickly, but I couldn't tell you what his defining trait even was besides "doesn't want to decide between his parents". That does make this episode a little weak, and is also probably why it feels too nice at times, if you see what I mean. But I still had a good time watching it and pondering over how the divorce came about (seriously, they're so amicable towards each other). A good ep to add to my collection of favourites.
"The Parent Map"
I should clarify ahead of time that I don't like Starlight Glimmer. More accurately, I don't like her reformed state from the Season Five finale onwards6. When she's not basically "the worst part of 'Lesson Zero'7 incarnate", she's bland and feels the most superfluous of the cast.
6 I don't fully like her revenge-villain state during the rest of that finale, either. It's kind of a boring letdown compared with what motivated her before. Really, her best appearance as far as I'm concerned was her debut, when her stint as the show's most compelling ideological villain actually got me hopeful the show would tackle more nuanced storytelling. There was even enough ambiguity over whether she was well-intentioned, exploitative, or some combination of the two, to fuel speculation.
7 Man, I'm not joking. "Lesson Zero" is an episode I loathe in the extreme, and I've never been impressed with the way the show treats mind-screwing as if it were a nuisance akin to throwing paint on someone.
But one thing that surprised me during Season Seven and Eight is that, baggage aside, some of her episodes are actually OK. In fact, in Season Eight, some of them are among the best. I mean, I still think she personally is kind of bland, but there's at least good stuff going on elsewhere (her relationship with her Dad, for instance). In this outing, we also have Sunburst, whose sheer geeky enthusiasm made him a character I quite liked during "Uncommon Bond" and "Shadow Play". Add in a bait-and-switch moral and two more characters with distinct, different approaches to how to revitalize a semi-crazy town, and we're all set!
I think what I liked most about this one was how Starlight and Sunburst came to understand the problems they were having getting along with their parents. It's not just that they were foreshadowed enough that the reveal of the real moral was an understandable twist; it's that the message even suffuses the "fake" moral. Holding onto the past well past the point it can reasonably apply: that's Starlight's dad's thing. Innovating and organizing to the point it becomes annoyingly overbearing (hence the gag about the annoying "welcome" message): that's Sunburst's mum's thing. This is also where Starlight's history actually works in her character's favour: wouldn't you want to run away and become a revolutionary after putting up with that kind of regressive parenting?
But first and foremost, I like this episode because it introduces some likeable characters with likeable relationships. The two parents aren't ill-intentioned; they just have naturally conflicting views about how to treat both their town and their children. Everyone's quirky, even the townsfolk, but no one's malicious or anything. Comfortable, gentle, accommodating: it's exactly why I like this show so much.
Well, that and the comedy. Seriously, the door gag was a hoot.
"Molt Down"
This was a weird one for me. Unlike Twilight's Red Bull moment, Spike being given wings didn't bother me one way or the other. Heck, if Twilight's going to break the symmetry of the unicorn-earth-pegasus cast for the sake of selling princess toys, then sod it, give Spike a chance to keep up too. Give it to him four and a half seasons too late, maybe, but we got there in the end.
Also, ROC! We have a ROC, people! Only one of the most badass bird monsters that ancient mythology ever hatched! HELL YEAH! ROC ON!
Seriously, the Roc showing up is a much bigger deal to me than it probably is for anyone else. Granted, it's random. Do rocs just hang around Equestria waiting for prepubescent dragons to get acne, or does that thing make the turkey vulture - which can smell rotting meat from miles away - retire from the smelling business in shame? But it's a cool bird with a cool falcon-esque design and it leads to some cool spectacle, so I'm pretty cool with it.
The other major good part, of course, is Spike's talk with Smolder. The little kid asks the big kid why his voice is dropping, basically. It's a nice scene, reinforcing Smolder's "I'm too cool for this crap" outlook, and if she's not exactly going to win prizes for deepest character ever (at least Ember's actively struggling to balance friendship against her hardass image), she's at least fun to watch being carelessly callous. Ditching your own brother. Cold, girl. Real cold. 
And yes, I know who her brother turns out to be. I'm trying to stay positive here.
It's not, despite Spike's ascension, really much of a groundbreaking episode. I just liked seeing Rarity, Twilight, and Zecora come together to help Spike understand and deal with his sudden puberty stand-in for dragons. An easy watch that went down well, but not amazing.
"The Hearth's Warming Club"
So, those Student Six.
A friend of mine once put it to me - before I started watching - that Season Eight's inclusion of these six made it feel like a chance to start over. I'm paraphrasing here. The point is, they're a fresh new start for the series and they have potential. Given my own less-than-enthusiastic view of how the show has handled big changes before, I was a tad skeptical going in.
It's still the case that I think they're not fleshed-out enough - I couldn't tell you a damn thing about Sandbar, for instance - but that's more to do with how these new characters are squeezed into a show that's already stuffed to the gills with cast members, many of whom are already woefully undernourished (I mean, seriously, it took until Season Seven before Princess Celestia even shared protagonist duties with anyone, never mind had her own bona fide episode).
I personally think the show should have reset its continuity, the better to give such new elements a chance to shine in their own right (or, if they stink, at least not stain pre-existing continuity like mud on a nice carpet).
Enter this episode.
The Student Six already shone in episodes that otherwise were mud on the carpet ("Non-Compete Clause", anyone?). Here, they're in the spotlight at last, and thank the gods for that. Now we can understand Ocellus's well-intentioned studiousness better by seeing how her changelings hilariously mangle Hearth's Warming traditions. (Ha! Even when they're being good, they're parasitic!). Now we can get at least something more meaningful and touching out of Yona's "Yak Smash" upbringing. Now we can watch Silverstream be basically the heart on everyone's sleeve, not just her own, as well as hint as to the relief of coming out after a legacy spent in hiding.
And Gallus tops them all, being both the one who actually did something to get a plot rolling of his own initiative and the first confirmed orphan in the show (as far as I know)8. Gallus's role in all this is exactly what I want to be seeing out of this cast.
8 Scootaloo, eat your poor little heart out.
Failing that, there's always Smolder kicking over everyone's goodwill. Cynicism makes for good comedy.
I still wish the show would do something about Sandbar, though. The ingredients are there: laid-back approach, cool surfer aesthetic, the only pony in a group of avowedly "foreign" weirdoes. True, the fact that his story was the most boring gave him a bit of a quirk in this particular episode, getting excited over a doll falling, but it needs to push more to make it more entertaining, more consistently. As it is, he's unfortunately left behind. So much potential.
The dynamics that emerge, and the foundations finally set in stone, all hint at a way the show could have gone. I can't say I'm pleased with the dearth of Student-Six-centric episodes on display, but I'm at least grateful for the ones we got.
"Friendship University"/"The End in Friend" (Special Mentions)
I mention these two briefly, as they're more or less on the same level for me: barely OK. That's kind of the problem.
The Flim Flam brothers have an actual scam going, but at this point it feels like a bit of a retread of "Leap of Faith" (the songs start out almost identically). Some funny gags (I burst out laughing when Flim completely failed to recognize Rarity), some nice moments when Twilight finds herself pitted against someone she admires so much in a case of tragic irony. It just doesn't feel like it adds up to much.
Rarity and Rainbow Dash find their particular friendship is thin on the ground. OK, so they haven't been paired that much, but they've been part of the larger Main Six for so long that this feels too little, too late. Some amusing moments (I admit the Bufogren scene was so awkward it came back round to being funny again), some nice conceits with the Shadow Spade/Daring Do comparisons. It just doesn't feel like it adds up to much.
That's my overall impression: the sum is so much less than the parts.
I distinctly felt tired during these episodes. For a Flim Flam Brothers episode in particular, that's a bad sign, because I always find those two charlatans amusing. For a Rainbow Dash and Rarity pairing to waste some of its time pointing out how odd the pairing is? Yes, but this is Season Eight. Can you actually do something more progressive with that, please? 
Special mentions, these are, because these two were just on the "Is it good or is it bad?" threshold for me. Not good enough to be favourites, not bad enough to be dismissed entirely. Just sort of there.
"Road to Friendship"
Trrrrrrrrrrrrrixie!
Let me talk about Trrrrrrrrrrrrrixie for a moment, because as much as I like her concept, it's an arresting fact that, for me, Forgotten Friendship was easily her best appearance thus far.
Her appearance in Season One came with one of the worst episodes of that season, consisting of ten minutes of insufferable bullying, followed by two unlikeable male characters doing something so dumb that the episode apparently gets infected by the stupid as well, because they get moustaches as a punishment. The fact that I, early on, got into disputes with people who seemed excessively determined to whitewash the magician, and tar everybody else, soured my experience of that episode further.
Her appearance in Season Three somehow managed to be worse, eating its cake and having it as far as her culpability went (I admittedly say this as someone who felt Trrrrrrrrrrrrrixie was at least potentially fine as a mere jerk, and didn't need to be turned evil).
To cap it all, by the time Season Six manages to make something watchable out of her, she gets paired off with another unicorn I can't stand. It really says something that her best appearance thus far - for me - was Forgotten Friendship. That's an Equestria Girls special! She's not even technically the same character!
But credit where it's due: Trrrrrrrrrrrrrixie was the best thing in those Season Six episodes, and I remind you she had Discord and Queen Chrysalis as co-stars in two of them. And so she was also the best thing in subsequent Season Seven episodes9, where Starlight upgraded from "worst thing in the show" to "tolerable if you ignore the baggage". Come Season Eight, and we get...
9 Apart from "All Bottled Up", where halfway through some stupidity pill apparently kicks in and she becomes the most annoying thing onscreen.
This episode.
To my own surprise, I love this episode. The teeth-clenched friendship between Starlight and Trrrrrrrrrrrrrixie as the ep progresses manages to be both hilarious and touching in a crooked kind of way. Admittedly, I thought Starlight selling the caravan went a tad too far over the line, but it led to a funny ending, so I'll tentatively give it a pass. Besides, there's too much fun to be had here.
Hoo'far just showing up and being chill about everything was a welcome way to break up the tension. Exotic locales, Trrrrrrrrrrrrrixie protesting in the middle of the road, and the most weirdly back-handed "heartwarming" ending to an episode yet? Well, don't quote me or anything, but this might finally be the episode where Starlight-Trrrrrrrrrrrrrixie works for me.10
10 "To Change a Changeling" came pretty close, but let's be honest: Pharynx was the main reason that episode worked so well.
Who'd have thunk it?
"The Washouts"
Part of me dreaded watching this episode. It's no secret I'm not remotely a fan of the show's enthusiasm for redeeming villains and jerks left and right, especially since I can probably name two cases where it actually felt convincing11.
11 For the record: the first is Sunset Shimmer, who was underdeveloped as a villain anyway, and at least had a movie devoted to exploring the fallout of her actions in such a way that she at least felt sincere in her efforts to make up for her bullying. The second is Gilda, whose main problem was being a bully obsessed with cool. That's pretty tame compared with most other villains. And unlike Diamond Tiara, the other bully character, she was once explicitly friends with a member of the main cast, so she's got a history to draw upon.
Now we turn to Lightning Dust. She was the best thing about "Wonderbolt Academy", and I preferred the ambiguity over whether she was merely demoted or outright chucked off the team. Weirdly, there's even a case to be made that Lightning Dust could be redeemed quite convincingly, especially since there's an alleged alternate ending where she realizes her mistake.
Basically, I'm not a huge fan of how this episode ended. Lightning Dust was fine for the first 90% of it; there was no need to have her suddenly jump off the deep end and go blasting off again like a cartoony supervillain. In fact, take that out and this episode is an instant classic. As it is, it's sadly just a really good episode that tripped at the finish line.
And what makes this so good?
Stunt ponies, for one. Seriously, the Washouts are effing boss. The Wonderbolts look like wee little pansies by comparison. GO, WASHOUTS!
Scootaloo, for two. I so love the fact that she's finally looking beyond scooting into the wider world of stunts, because it feels like exactly what she's going to lean towards as she grows up. The hardcore nature of the pursuit fits right into her seeking-to-impress characterization. Her enthusiasm for it at the expense of Rainbow Dash's fandom was probably a little overplayed, but yeah. I can totally understand it, in kind if not in degree. Her latching onto the Washouts was just such a delight to see, and her pushing back against Rainbow Dash was one of the best signs of her progression, showing she's not just some hoof-licker trying to impress a big sis substitute.12
12 Plus, imagine Scootaloo growing up to scoot through the Crushinator Jaws of Smashalot, patent pending! Effing boss.
The comedy, for three. Do I even need to say more than "a full body wing-and-hoof cast drinkin' through a straw!"? Also, Short Fuse's anger outbursts, Rainbow utterly struggling to make a case against the awesome might that is the Washouts, and Scootaloo just not buying into this adult nonsense about safety. Perhaps this is because the episode has an edge to it, but the jokes landed for me.
And for four? Rainbow Dash. Her relationship with Scootaloo has been an ongoing pleasure as it's developed all the way since that episode in Season One, when Scootaloo just wanted to find out how the hell she got her cutie mark already. Rainbow now fearing for the little kid's safety like an overprotective big sister is the sort of thing I've wanted to see for a long time, especially if we get the comedic mileage of seeing her look like a darn fool trying. It's sweet and touching, and that's what makes the odd awkwardness of their "sisterhood" so delightful to watch.
But seriously. That stunt show? Effing boss.
"A Rockhoof and a Hard Place"
Ah, the Pillars. They could've been a contender. Of all the new cast members who were crammed into the roster, these are arguably the most hard-done-by. Whether it's Ancient China, Egypt during its glory days, or the mighty Celtic warrior tribes of old, they represent a myriad of ancient historical styles and potential mythological inspirations13.
13 With the exception of Meadowbrook, who sticks out like a voodoo priest in a class on Classical Civilizations. I mean, Cajuns? The hell? They aren't exactly ancient history, are they?
Although their legends were a bit on the questionable side (as DannyJ once put it, apparently "ponies really do evolve like Pokemon sometimes"), and their appearance in the Season Seven finale mostly took a back seat to the Stygian-Star Swirl angle, I'm sure once Season Eight came around, they'd get their dues as fascinating characters in canon.
Well, I was sorta right. I mean, they got this episode.
And that's it.
Um, good for them.
I can't be too annoyed by this, however. Because this is easily one of the best episodes of Season Eight. Rockhoof's misplaced heroism and enthusiasm for tall stories got my sympathies fast, as did his understandable quest to find out how he'd fit in the modern world. Really, if only the Pillars had more episodes like this instead of being pushed aside and minimized, they could grow to be at least on par with the Student Six. Heck, even in this episode, the fates of the other Pillars are mostly glossed over. There's a storytelling goldmine right there, people! Right freaking there!
There are all kinds of crazy suicide implications with Rockhoof's despairing demand to become a statue in a museum at the end, which is sort of like how "Surf and/or Turf" managed to smuggle in some hefty material without betraying the innocent tone of the show. Yona identifying with Rockhoof's in-your-face attitude was another sweet Student Six moment.14
14 See what I mean? Sprinkle some Student Six over an ep, and it goes down much better, even when the ep is already as great as this one.
Twilight granting him a new job just like that felt a little too pat, but it ties in with his enthusiasm for the stories of his homeland, so it's sweet enough to get a pass from me. Also, the hippogriffs have a navy. I am strangely OK with this; maybe they don't want to go back to being sea ponies, and having a ship with supplies and so on could give them an edge in a skirmish out to sea.
So while I mourn the loss of potential that the Pillars represent, I can at least be glad that some of that potential survived and found a home in this lovely little episode.
"What Lies Beneath"
This is going to be the last one. I haven't seen "Sounds of Silence" yet, though I am very much looking forward to it. And given that the overall experience of Season Eight is largely "the Student Six are the best parts", this feels like a natural way to end my spate of reviews.
Actually, this was the first Season Eight episode I ever watched. It was mostly to get an excuse to see the Student Six in action, and at the time I wasn't hugely enthused. It was OK, just didn't do a lot to persuade me it was anything worth kicking up a fuss about. Certainly didn't persuade me to watch the whole season.
This friend of mine suggested it wasn't the best episode to start with, if I wanted to appreciate the Student Six properly, so it was better to see it from the start and get a better feel for their progression. I was doubtful, and didn't watch the season for a long time. I actively resisted doing so. Given some of the shit I've had to sit through, I'm not apologizing.
However, when I finally sat down and watched Season Eight in earnest, I made a point of focusing on the Student Six episodes, including the premiere and the finale, "The Hearth's Warming Club", and this little number as a rewatch to see if my opinion might change. And...
...yeah, it has. I really like this one.
OK, so I still resist chunks of it. We're still firmly stuck in the goddamn school, and now I've got that annoying faker Cozy Glow to put up with too. Joy.
See, I don't know if it's the voice, the obvious passive-aggressiveness, or the fact that she's a random pegasus filly being treated as on par with the likes of Queen Chrysalis and Tirek - who at least were different species - but I'm sorry, I just don't find her entertaining to watch, as a villain or otherwise. When she's not immediately annoying, she's a confusion of half-baked ideas packed into one inelegant character design. Most of what made her plan in the finale work was everyone else leaving their brains at home, and so many elements felt off about the finale - like what was that magic-draining spell supposed to lead to, and how did it even work, and who the fuck thought up that stupid penpal plot point!? - that ultimately it just felt like a trainwreck in the worst sense of the word. I mean, like, at least the Season Six finale was an entertaining trainwreck. Once again, the only redeeming features were Chancellor Neighsay and the Student Six, and even they couldn't save this slapped-together villain sue horseshit.
All right, just had to get that off my chest. Positives, positives. We're focusing on the positives now. Proceed.
Oh, all right, one more. "What Lies Beneath" also features the spirit of the Tree of Harmony, who in its infinite writerly wisdom manifests as a Twilight Sparkle who's clearly done some ecstasy. I'm dead serious. Every time she spoke in that flat, dippy voice, I died laughing and then resurrected myself for another round of death-by-oh-god-no-who-thought-this-was-being-serious? What the hell drug was she on?
That was a negative that swung round to being a positive in an ironic way. I'm going to give the episode credit for this unintentional hilarity and move on to how Gallus was almost crushed to death to see if he was harmonious enough for the tree-god's liking.
I'm gonna come out and say it; I hate this sort of thing in fiction. Not the immediate pleasure of seeing an obstacle dealt with or a problem solved, to be fair, but the unfortunate puritan implications behind it, especially when the one doing the judging isn't being presented as a jerk on purpose. Sure, we want our heroes to be virtuous, but not to the point we kill them if they turn out to like arguing a bit too much. It's disproportionate judgementalism, and I will not let it be passed off as the workings of some untouchable authority who's never called out on it. Especially not one that's a goddamn sparkle tree that sounds like it's high.
But at least we have our tests, and they delve a little more deeply into the cast. There's nothing here that's revolutionary: facing up to your fears is hardly going down as the most compelling character progression, even confining ourselves to this show alone, and that's probably why I bounced off this episode on the first try. Still, now I've grown to like Ocellus and Silverstream, it was more involving to see them face up to pasts that clearly haunt them to an extent. Smolder's fear at least was funny in its subversion of her "I'm too tough for this rubbish" tendencies, and Yona befriending spiders made me happy (I am the devil who wrote The Web Untangled, after all. Of course I like seeing spiders playing nice).
Oddly, Gallus's felt like the weakest of the bunch. Not bad, really, but after he stole the show in "The Hearth's Warming Club", his claustrophobia seemed a tad underwhelming. At least he pushed Silverstream to overcome her fear of the Storm King and even injected a bit of griffon self-assertion into it, telling her to tell the King off. Like I said, nothing amazing, but simple and straightforward enough to enjoy.
Even more oddly, this was probably Sandbar's best showing yet (which admittedly isn't saying much). His desire to impress two of the heroes of Equestria, realizing as he did so that he was undermining his loyalties in the process, puts him in an interesting position in the group. As the only pony, is he actually suffering from some kind of "I must lead them!" complex behind that blase attitude? He's usually the one trying to chill everyone out, so this episode's treatment of him as a hero wannabe casts an interesting light over that, and, well, it's about damn time he was made more interesting. The fact that he's also last to figure things out suggests he might be the weakest of the cast in terms of temptation, which again at least raises his character to a more interesting level.
It all came together to make what could have been a boggy episode much more than the modest sum of its parts. If the Student Six were to get their own spin-off show, I'd gladly watch it. I'd even hope it stood alongside Season One of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. It would deserve the chance.
Verdict on Season Eight
That, as it stands, is that. I've focused on the best episodes here, because if you're going to look at a shipwreck, you should at least have some salvaged goods to show for it. However, overall Season Eight has proven an especially hard season to watch, and I say that as someone who struggled through Seven and Six after being eventually persuaded that they might be worth watching. I think I'm just running out of enthusiasm for muscling through muck to find a few nuggets. It wasn't something I had to do often in prior seasons, Season Three notwithstanding. Sometimes, even good episodes contain some compromise or baggage that tempers the experience.
Looking back, I think what stood out to me as the good stuff was mostly low-key character shenanigans, the sort of slice-of-life episodes where we get to see charming ponies - or creatures of any kind - weird each other out, chuck out their quirks, annoy each other, not always get along, or just flat-out butt heads over some issue, but still come away appreciating or liking each other as friends or family.
It's a warm, cosy show. It can have an edge, some spice, a little kick in it - divorce, suicide, all that jazz - so long as the edge plays by the rules and finds a cunning way of slipping in without being noticed, or at least without being distractingly off or confrontational about it. The point is I enjoy the show like I'd enjoy a hot drink among friends in a warm home in the middle of a blizzard in a world that doesn't always have time to give me such a treat. It might be a little undemanding, nothing exciting, even predictable, but it doesn't need to be. Those would be bonuses.
Honestly, most of my problems with the show tend to be those parts of it that shake up the premise too much. It's not that I'm a reactionary to change, but most of the changes don't feel right to me or are at odds with why I like the show in the first place. I don't care what Great Destiny Twilight is being pushed into this time, especially since the heavy emphasis on her specialness is one of the reasons she's one of the least relatable characters to me by this point - and I say this as a pro-science, bibliophiliac, pro-intellectual type who should, by all rights, find her the most relatable.
I certainly don't give a monkey's when the show tries that nonsense on Starlight. Or on Discord, whose redemption only sits well with me at all because it means more snark provided by John de Lancie. And as much as I like the Cutie Map episodes, the missionary-esque conceit behind the Cutie Map in the first place has never struck me as anything but a clumsy, inorganic, annoying way to bring those episodes about.
That's probably why the Student Six stick out to me this season, despite the School of Friendship itself being a horrible idea. Being fresh faces, there's a sense we get to start over with them and work out their character dynamics as we go. They're all weird in their own ways - I'll even go to bat for Sandbar, who's the least distinctive in that regard, as a necessary counterbalance to the madness - but they find ways to connect and bond with each other, to the point that their potential role as future bearers of the Elements of Harmony could actually have some heft to it, if only they were given their own show to focus on and expand on what we got here.
If it sounds like I'm giving my general retrospective on the show, I'm toying with the idea that I might be going no further.
Gems notwithstanding, Season Eight has actually persuaded me that Season Nine isn't going to be worth checking out unless I want to be a masochist for diminishing returns. I've said before the show feels at times like someone else's (bad) fanfiction, with the added insult that it's now stamped "canon", so anyone desiring to keep to the show's continuity is now stuck with this stuff. That's slightly alienating, especially to someone still trying to get old ideas and passion projects off the ground.
At the very least, I need some Industrial Grade Serious Persuading to continue with the show as is.
And Lastly, A Personal Update As A Fanficker
As for fan-ficking? Please excuse me another mini-retrospective.
The short answer is: This year has been lousy, and I hope the next one can rise above this shit.
I hate having to sound like some ungrateful, back-handed compliment-fisher - I know people think I'm good, and I'm not going to slap them round the face or beg for more like some homeless schmuck looking for change - but I'm really not joking when I say I don't feel content, or satisfied, or even consistently happy about all this.
I look at the stuff I've written this year, and my only conclusion is that it's a poor showing. I'm not saying any particular work is bad - and I'm certainly not going to pretend the praise hasn't been a goddamn tonic after feeling like something scraped off a shoe sometimes - but I'm sorry: compared with what I'm trying to achieve, it's not even close. Not by a long shot.
This year's work has been an absolute fall from my usual standards, with a pitifully small and unambitious output compared with A) what I've pulled off before, and B) what I'm aiming to achieve. Most of the time, I've spent days wondering if I should see a doctor and confirm if this is actually clinical depression, because the damn misery of not getting these dreams realized has never eased up for long.
It's taken me a lot of this year just to muster up the confidence to continue writing, because I utterly want to produce high-quality material, and even a merely disappointing result throws me off my game. It just feels like I get back less than I put in, and most of that is demoralizing or lacklustre lumps than uplifting praise, at that. I don't enjoy feeling like a baby in the kiddie pool while the big swimmers do laps and get medals.
Honest to hell, I'm goddamn trying. I've forced myself to write, at times. It's just not happening, and I know that's not an excuse at all, but there it is. I don't like it any more than anyone else would, moreso because I can and should like this writing craft more than I do. But all the same, I don't want to add to the mounting pile of Sturgeon's Law garbage that gives fanfiction a bad name in mainstream society. That means if I'm bad at something, no excuses. I get to fucking work on it. And if it turns out there's some major flaw holding me back, I'm not going to stop until the thing's taken out and shot, because I don't want it holding me back.
Because something clearly is, after eight years of work for this much. I don't want to be some forgotten footnote in the larger story. I want to be in the club that proves fanfiction can absolutely rise above that, and as much as I'm grateful for those loyal devotees who follow my work and make me feel like I'm someone getting somewhere, right now I feel like I could die tomorrow and no one would really notice. Even NaPoWriMo turned out to be a total waste of time, and that was after setting myself a pathetically easy 10,000-word target. I just found myself wondering why I should ever bother at all, if nothing's going to change in this pit I'm clearly stuck in.
But I'm. Not. Leaving. Not by a long shot.
For one thing, I think I've announced my impending departure far too often; even I don't take it seriously anymore. So I'll be hanging around the site still. I'm not going away. I'm not done yet.
For another thing, I intend to get some ideas out there and start experimenting and producing again. Any hopes of becoming a Big Name with an impressive ouvre are pretty much long since dead and buried, but failing that, I am still committed to the craft because it has made many of my days brighter. There is a good side. This lifestyle's so close to perfection. All I need to figure out is how to carry the pleasures and achievements further without tripping up and ending up having to go back to the starting line again.
Plus, I feel so disconnected from the fandom as a whole by this point that I'm at least also helpfully detaching myself from its more toxic and frustrating elements. Which is frankly liberating.
So my current state is still basically an act of quantum uncertainty, where I'm writing and not-writing at the same time. The thing's there. I might be able to grasp it with a little more effort. Just don't expect a return to form anytime soon. Since I never mastered short stories, and my long-term projects tend towards novel-sized works, any stories I do get around to creating can't be written that easily or that quickly.
Anyway, even if I did get my writing together, publishing is another question entirely. I'm not doing this for the sake of an audience who'll ignore it half the time and shit on it the other half.
If that sounds a little uncertain and ambiguous, then that's where I'm at right now. Not with the overarching strategy - I'm going to get my passion projects out if it kills me - but with the specific tactics I'll need to realize those projects. It is, as it has been for a while, a work in progress.
Until that time, I can only say: Impossible Numbers out.
Well, there's very little of the actual School of Friendship. Several episodes featuring the Student Six, but minimal involvement of the actual building. (Though the worst episode of the season does involve it.) There's more of a return to form in several adventure and slice-of-life episodes, some longstanding questions finally being answered (including Scootaloo's parents,) a heist episode planned out by the Mane Six's voice actresses, and some great villain-focused episodes.
That said, the Twilight specialness does get cranked up, so there's that. Still, Season Eight was decidedly the show's low point overall. If nothing else, there are several episodes you should watch.
Whether you look into the last or season or not, I'm looking forward to more of your writing!
Tl;dr
Weren't you leaving?
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Sold!
OK, I'm joking about being that easy to persuade, but at least that's a good start.
Understandable, from my own experience if nothing else. Well, most of my own experience has been that the show's been diminishing in quality per season, which is one reason I'm wary of Season Nine after ploughing through Season Eight.
Another reason is that some of the stuff I've heard over the grapevine has absolutely not inspired much, if any, confidence. Hate to break it to you, but that Scootaloo episode is most definitely one of them, partly for the same reason "The End in Friend" felt too little, too late, but mostly because I didn't like the answer I was hearing to that particular question. Also, the sheer number of villain redemptions being brought to bear. Don't we have too many already?
Fair's fair, I'll grant "Frenemies" just sounds weird enough as an ep to maybe warrant overcoming my reservations for that particular arc, especially with Cozy Glow being in it. And I admit to being intrigued about what I heard of "Sparkle's Seven", especially given its broader reception in the fandom.
And thank you for the vote of confidence! It would be a pleasure to meet it, and then some!
5169916
Right. Your comments on these blog posts have consistently been counterproductive, unpleasant if not borderline callous, almost wilfully ignorant, and completely worthless to any of the discussions at hand. And I've run out of patience.
As of now, you are blocked. I am not putting up with this annoying behaviour any longer. Frankly, I advise you stop and think about how you come across to other people before you try something like this again, but either way you're certainly not getting any further chances here. Goodbye.
I continue to find this weird. I frequently couldn't stand the Student Six ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
5170011
To be fair, they're not particularly deep characters. Part of the appeal for me is that they lack some of the baggage other characters have, but that also means they don't exactly rank up there with the Main Six as favourites.
I can also imagine how some, like Yona, Silverstream, and Gallus, could get on people's nerves easily. Yona, for instance, took a long while to grow on me, and she's still not my favourite of the bunch.
5170014
I don't mind Gallus that much. It's actually Sandbar that gets me the most (I feel like Yona goes without saying).
The primary reasons I don't like the group are their episodes and focuses feel like straight-up rehashes of things we've seen the Main 6 and/or CMC already did. And it doesn't feel like anything new or interesting was added, either. The School also frequently sucked and that really didn't help the Student 6 to be more endearing.
Ultimately, it felt like there were too many characters competing for space in Season 8. Starlight Glimmer still has lots of room to grow. An episode like *The Washouts* shows just how much room the main cast still has. The introduction of the Student 6 seemed to crowd all that out and dilute the season. At least that's how it felt for me. Different strokes for different folks and all ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
5170038
Yeah, I can see where you're coming from there. "What Lies Beneath", for instance, is every "face your fears" episode, but with the disadvantage of doing it simultaneously with six cast members rather than devoting an ep to each one. It actually reminded me of that scene in "The Crystal Empire" where Twilight and Spike are given illusions to face their worst fears. Also whilst in a giant crystal building, to boot. And after e.g. Scootaloo and Ember, Smolder's anti-cute attitude isn't much to write home about.
I don't know if I'd call "The Hearth's Warming Club" a rehash, per se, not of any particular episode, but that might just be my shoddy memory. I thought it felt quite fresh, especially Gallus's role.
God, I cannot agree with this more.
Ditto.
Eh, c'est la vie. Sooner or later, there's no accounting for tastes, right?
We share a lot of opinions on S8 in general. It's good to not be alone.
S9 is worth your time. Overall, it is better than S8 for reasons FOME mentioned. There's more Student Six, since you actually liked them. There's still a lot of hot fucking garbage, but I felt like there was little that reached the same lows as S8's lows.
And I'd say, if you made it this far, if you suffered through S8, you owe it to yourself to see the show out. :B I mean, you're gonna get curious eventually, I can almost guarantee it.
Oooh, I'd suggest watching the holiday special - Best Gift Ever if you haven't; it did a lot to remind me of why exactly I enjoy the show after indeed finding Season 8 to be rather unsatisfactory. (Plus it's already the right season for it!)
Re: Season 9, I have to say that on an episode-by-episode basis I liked it on average less than Season 8 (though that's with me being relatively okay with the School of Friendship and the Student Six). But, this feeling is mostly centered on the first half of the season. I don't know if it was simply hitting me that the show was finally ending, but I found the latter half of the season to be very enjoyable with long strings of solid episodes. The series finale especially did an excellent job of wrapping up and celebrating the spirit of the show, so that no matter how the season went, I'll look on the season--and more importantly, the show as a whole--fondly.
Best of luck with all the writing.
Y'all on hard drugs, Yona is basically the best.
Would legit have watched a full series Friendship: TNG with these kids, but little chance of that, since they're not toyable as much as the ponies are. I never minded the School as much as some, partially because I love Fantasy Academia. The premise of having the main cast as professors showed its weakness early on, though, to the point that they had to start lampshading it. Would have legit preferred a school run by the Pillars of Equestria instead.
Show coasts downhill after S7 (which was uncommonly strong for such a late season in any show), and I found the penultimate pre-finale to be actively unpleasant, but there's still enough moments moments that I didn't regret the decision to watch S9.
5170070
You'd be amazed how incurious I can get when I sense a bad time ahead. If the last few seasons have taught me anything, it's to prune ruthlessly when it comes to feel-good entertainment, so that you stay feeling good. Besides, I'm way past the point of watching just to keep in the know.
I suppose like last time, it'd be worth asking if there are any particular standouts? "Frenemies" is the best-sounding one so far, and I suppose the three-part finale is obligatory watching for the sake of "being there", so to speak. Any other notables?
5170078
As it happens, "Best Gift Ever" is next on my list. With Season Eight more or less out of the way, and given the generally positive reception, I'm actually interested enough to try this one.
Regarding Season Nine, it'd be helpful to me to glean what particular episodes to watch. I took a similar pick-and-mix approach to Six, Seven, and Eight, with mixed results.
5170182
I'm not against fantasy academia, per se, though they already tried something like that with Equestria Girls, and for me the academic setting there was among the least compelling of its components. Heck, I'd be more open to it if it was more like seeing Cheerilee's class more often, or a flashback to Twilight's school days, or something similar. No, it was more how it came about here that put me off, the whole "slap the word Friendship on it!" laziness.
The Pillars being teachers would be a pretty tidy idea, at least, especially since it would give us a chance to learn about them. Still, I can't imagine the show-writers ever implementing it as an open possibility.
Having a devil of a time parsing this, I'm afraid. Which episodes do you mean? The finale of Season Eight, or the two-parter before the last episode of Season Nine? Those are my best two guesses.
5170380
Episodes 24 and 25, the two partner immediately before the finale, is not great for a couple of spoiltastic reasons. IMO.
5170380
Mind you, I haven't rewatched the season yet, so everything's a little fuzzy, but here's my quick rundown. (I forget how I did this last time, but...)
The Beginning of the End: Sets up the dumb season arc, so is required watching. Nevertheless one of the more exciting season openers, certainly in the past couple seasons.
Uprooted: Probably good if you like the Student Six, I don't remember it.
Sparkle's Seven: Hilarity and hijinks along the lines of Slice of Life, except with characters you actually care about! A must-see.
The Point of No Return: Stupid crap where Twilight freaks out about nothing for no reason.
Common Ground: Good if you like Quibble Pants and want to see him have another episode. I liked it.
She's All Yak: Avoid at all costs, especially if you like the Student Six. D:
Frenemies: Yeah, it's good. If you're already primed to want to see it, this is why you watch the season premiere.
Sweet and Smoky: I enjoyed it, but I'll admit it's kind of weak. Do you want to see Garble reformed? Features a good turn by Smolder.
Going to Seed: Perfectly okay, depends on how much you like the Apple family.
Student Counsel: My favorite of the season. Do you like Starlight and Trixie shenanigans? Because it doesn't get any better than this.
The Last Crusade: Scootaloo gets parents and lesbian aunts. Scootaloo's parents are terrible. I liked this one, but it's divisive.
Between Dark and Dawn: SUPER HYPER MEGA GARBAGE GO
The Last Laugh: A really good episode in my opinion, especially if you like Cheese Sandwich.
246 Great: Awful. More good Smolder and Ocellus, at least?
A Trivial Pursuit: Remember in the early seasons when ponies would randomly forget friendship? It's Twilight's turn to do that with Pinkie Pie! :D Kill me. D:
The Summer Sun Setback: A continuation of the villain season arc, so if you liked Frenemies, this is worth checking out. Not quite as good, though, but sets up the season ender.
She Talks to Angel: Honestly kind of amazing, especially if you like Fluttershy.
Dragon Dropped: Sparity garbage. Really dumb.
A Horse Shoe-In: Not as amazing as Student Counsel, but still more good Startrix shenanigans. Basically the end of their arc.
Daring Doubt: Do you enjoy villain reformation? Well, too bad, because all that lies within these walls is retcons.
Growing Up Is Hard to Do: Divisive. I mean, it's got the CMCs as adults, and their designs are really great, but a lot of people thought they could have done more with the idea.
The Big Mac Question: Do you crave an ending to the Big Macintosh/Sugar Belle arc? Guess what, they get married. I'm not saying it's bad, just that the title leaves no room for doubt. :B (More important is who finally proposes in the background...)
And then the finales are pretty much must-sees. hth
ah, but you're thinking of actual friendship! the whole
re-educationschool gimmick eerily fits how the show has gradually been treating "the magic of friendship" like some religion, which all must follow or elseI also kept my own list of not-painful S8 episodes, and coincidentally had about nine of those, that I wouldn't mind watching again. For S9 that list went down to, uh...... two. Maybe three if I'm feeling generous. Good luck, I hope you'll suffer less than I did.
Not gonna go over every episode, but I'll note that I like the Student 6 much less, and even I had to admit "The Hearth's Warming Club" was pretty fun. It was good!
5170406
I think - through general online osmosis - I know one of those. Cough Discord cough.
5170430
And I can already see a majority that'll need pruning. Of the rest, I think I can muster some enthusiasm for... maybe seven or eight, excluding the finale. But we'll see.
Thanks for the helpful list. It's good to get some idea of what's there before going in.
5170477
Don't I know it. There's a reason I refer to the Cutie Map episodes as "missionary-esque". I presume that means the School of Friendship will handily be tax-exempt.
Ouch. That's a bad sign.
That said, mind if I ask which two or three?
To be honest, I think another large part of why I like the Student Six is probably just context. This is Season Eight, after all. Especially during unwatchable episodes, they tended to stand out simply by not being the worst things on-screen. And looking back, they only really get two focal episodes on my list of nine clear favourites. (Eleven if I count "Friendship University" and "The End in Friend", and they're borderline cases at best). Which isn't particularly impressive.
5170607
"Sparkle's Seven" is the best episode in years, because the voice actresses plotted it and they clearly have a good grasp on what makes their characters fun. I liked "Trivial Pursuit" because of the character interactions, but it relies on Twilight being mean to everyone so you might not like it. "A Horse Shoe-in" and "Common Ground" weren't amazing, but have a decent plot so they were watchable.
a lot of episodes were boring and forgettable, but "Dragon Dropped" horrified me for how it handled Rarity. I just felt grossed out after that one.
I'm glad you checked it out!
My experience of watching S8 was very weird because of moving house & various scheduling upheavals at the time. I actually still haven't seen a few episodes; really need to sit down and just shotgun the whole thing at some point.
I liked the show pretty much all the way from start to finish, though, so we're probably not going to agree on everything--and might even disagree on a lot. But I thought S9 was very deliberate about tying up loose ends and leaving things "done." Love the arcs the various characters ended up with or hate them, S9 ties the bow on everything.
I'mma have to take issue with this one, though. It's cute and it ended up working IMO. If you're not even gonna watch it, how can you knock it?
5171616
Of course I can knock it! I resent having my time wasted on unpromising avenues I didn't even ask for in the first place. I want a good time when I watch the show. That includes not having stillborn ideas chucked my way when they're not welcome, in fanfiction or in so-called "canon", or what passes for it.
As far as I'm concerned, the concept of that particular "arc" is dead on arrival, and nothing I've heard since has overcome that initial skepticism. It's arbitrary, way too late in the continuity, not motivated by any larger or prior thematic or character-based arcs.
More to the point, I'm not OK with the idea, or remotely interested in it at all. Since I flat-out didn't sign up for it, I won't be pushed into pretending otherwise. The show can't chuck anything out and expect me to just swallow it blindly.
This is all before I report on some of the low-quality content other reviewers have brought to general public attention. That's why I read reviews: to figure out directly or between the lines what to watch ahead of time.
As far as I'm concerned, the only difference between stuff like that and any random fanficker's efforts are how much money and official backing was chucked at it. None of which impresses me enough to treat it any differently from any other crackship, to say nothing of my general lack of interest in romance at the best of times.
And the last thing I'm going to do is let myself be a swallow-anything slave to the fallible continuity of a piece of fiction, much less be made to feel bad about such a decision.
5171616
5171873
Actually, in hindsight, that was too aggressive of me. I'm sorry if I came across as a tad defensive in my response. It's not your fault. A lot of it is just a side-effect of growing less and less pleased with - in some cases feeling actively opposed to - the show's output over time, and definitely feeling like I'm not on the same page as the majority of fans. If I've crossed the line and caused any offence, I'd like to apologize for it now.