"The Beginning of the End" S9 Ep 1 & 2 Discussion

[Bekuno]

Well here we go folks, after nearly 9 years we've reached the end. The aptly titled "beginning of the end" has aired.

Spoilers & recap ahead!

Episode 1:
Twilight & Co are summoned to Canterlot Castle to meet with Luna and Celestia, who announce they are ready to retire and want Twilight to take the helm as new ruler of Equestria. Meanwhile, Lord Tirek and Cozy Glow are ripped from their cages in Tartarus and brought to a strange location along with Queen Chrysalis and King Sombra. Grogar, one of the infamous villains of G1, has brought these villians together to take down Equestria once and for all. Sombra, however, wishes to take matters into his own hands instead of working as a team. He quickly takes down the Crystal Empire, trapping Shining Armor, Cadence, & Flurry Heart while possessing the crystal ponies to do his bidding. But just as quickly as he reclaimed his home, he loses it once more to the Mane 6, who have arrived with the elements of harmony to banish him back to the ether once more. Though seemingly defeated, it turns out Somba is not yet done for, and his dark crystals begin popping up and he completely shatters the Tree of Harmony & it's Elements.

Episode 2:
Quickly picking up from the first Episode, Sombra has captured the Mane 6. Assuming they are out of the way, he moves on with the next part of his plan. Who needs the Crystal Empire when you can take all of Equestria now? Despite his magic-blocking crystals, the Mane 6 escape their prison quickly by digging underneath is. They quickly rush to ponyville, only to find all theirs friends and loved ones under Sombra's control and quickly marching towards canterlot. What's worse, the Everfree Forest has come to life once more without the Tree of Harmony to control it, and is growing into ponyville. The Mane 6 put up a strong front against the Forest but it is growing too quickly. Luckily, Celestia and Luna arrive in time to fight back. Starswirl also appears, summoned by the collapse of the Tree of Harmony. The three of them band together to fight off the Everfree Forest while the Mane 6 head to Canterlot, where Sombra has already taken up throne due to the Princesses absence. Discord assists the ponies, reflecting all of Sombra's spells, but ends up hit by a beam. After the ponies quickly mourn over Discord, they band together, holding hooves, and remind each other they don't need the elements. After all, the real magic is their Friendship, and it can defeat anything. Together they defeat Sombra once more, freeing the mind controlled ponies and removing the dark crystals from Equestria. Celestia & Luna return and apologize to Twilight for not giving her more time and acting rashly, and it is revealed Discord was just faking, as Discord does. But Sombra was only the first threat, and Grogar and the others are still planning to strike...


--
Gotta say, it's nice to see Sombra, one of the weakest villains in the show, get some proper screen time and dialogue. Also, having Grogar combines the G1 & G4 canon, and some of his speech seems to imply G1 is more canon than we think. I believe Gusty was even mentioned, but my stream cut out and I missed the exact dialogue. Oh, and Twilight seems to be fully willing to give Starlight control of the School & her Castle when she becomes ruler.

I'm really excited to see what exactly will happen this season. I'm sad to see FIM, it's been a big part of my life, but I can't wait to see how it all ends.

[StarSwirl05]

It was okay I guess. I still have questions regarding the events:

Sorry but you are not allowed to view spoiler contents.

That said, I liked the tie-in to G1 and Grogar certainly sounded menacing, moreso than King Somra's new voice.

[tailrustedtealeaf]

Yes, Gusty was called "Gusty the Great".  I thought that was a sweet detail.
I wish that they would have stuck with Twilight actually being the ruler of Equestria, although it does feel much more like finale fare than premiere. I also wish they would have kept the flowy, sparkly mane we saw when she was defeating Sombra, but again, finale vs premiere.
I'm still not a big fan of Cozy Glow being put in Tartarus, but I gotta say, she's very funny interacting with the other villains. I do wish she were redeemed, but I'm sure she'll be a big source of amusement for me. "I'm just a kid, sooo"

[lonewolf]

Overall it was a pretty good start to the season. It's not too hard to view Grogar and his gang as a nod to Lex Luthor and the Legion of Doom. Sombra did pretty good as a villain. The other 3 villains probably won't fare as good over the season (in that light a better name would be "Grogar and the Legion of Dimwits).
 Twi's panic attack was predictable, but still funny, especially with the other's response to her.

[Pinkie21]

I thought it was a pretty strong start to the end of the series.  It was cool to see the villains together.  As for Cozy, I REALLY hope they don’t redeem her.  People can be evil at any age, so it’d be pretty fun to see her go the way of Sombra.  Knowing this series, though, they’ll all be redeemed because *frieeeeendship*. I was so, SO glad there was no Student 6.  As far as Celestia and Luna retiring...don’t they still have to raise and lower the sun and moon?  As far as I know, they’re the only two who can do that, right?  Eh, I’m thinking way too hard about a kids’ show.  But I’m curious as to if they didn’t think this whole thing through, or if they’re able to give Twilight their abilities.  They did so in a previous episode, so I guess it’s a possibility, though what will they do with their own lives?

[TJgamer]

That was a pretty good premiere. Probably the best since season 5 (The Cutie Map).
Both Grogar and Gusty the Great were mentioned back in the season 7 episode, A Flurry of Emotions, where Twilight was reading a story to the children. Up until now, I wasn't completely sure if it was real or just a fairy tale. Turns out it's the former.   

It was okay I guess. I still have questions regarding the events:

Sorry but you are not allowed to view spoiler contents.

That said, I liked the tie-in to G1 and Grogar certainly sounded menacing, moreso than King Somra's new voice.

Sorry but you are not allowed to view spoiler contents.

[StarSwirl05]

That was a pretty good premiere. Probably the best since season 5 (The Cutie Map).
Both Grogar and Gusty the Great were mentioned back in the season 7 episode, A Flurry of Emotions, where Twilight was reading a story to the children. Up until now, I wasn't completely sure if it was real or just a fairy tale. Turns out it's the former.   

It was okay I guess. I still have questions regarding the events:

Sorry but you are not allowed to view spoiler contents.

That said, I liked the tie-in to G1 and Grogar certainly sounded menacing, moreso than King Somra's new voice.

[spoiler]1. Is Tartarus anti-magic? All magic in Equestria was being wiped out in the season 8 finale, if that's what you were thinking of.

When Twilight and her friends were trapped, twilight wasn't able to escape using her magic. If it isn't anti-magic, then that should've worked.

[Lady Frostbite]

Magic worked WITHIN Tartarus when the creatures gave Twilight to allow them to escape, though. Could just say Grogar's magic is so deep and ancient that it overrides Tartarus so whatever

I did find the 'See, she gets it' line funny. It's always great when titled villains get each other's titles.right. I am disappointed Chrysalis is just yelling at logs,she had better not be reformed at the end.

With the upcoming 'Twilight didn't return a book and got a librarian fired' plot, I HAD assumed she wasn't going to take over totally and immediately. I still would have preferred it be a dream. It felt like a fakeout and Discord almost sounded like an angry fan or brony analysist at the end with his rant. Just feels lazy to have them retire rather than have them be more involved.

I don't think making Twilight the sole rular of Equestria is a good idea at ALL. Makes me dislike her even more, honestly.

[Ponyfan]

I really enjoyed the episodes overall and thought for the most part it was a great season opener.

Sorry but you are not allowed to view spoiler contents.

Ponyfan

[Leave a Whisper]

Yes, Gusty was called "Gusty the Great".  I thought that was a sweet detail.
I wish that they would have stuck with Twilight actually being the ruler of Equestria, although it does feel much more like finale fare than premiere. I also wish they would have kept the flowy, sparkly mane we saw when she was defeating Sombra, but again, finale vs premiere.
I'm still not a big fan of Cozy Glow being put in Tartarus, but I gotta say, she's very funny interacting with the other villains. I do wish she were redeemed, but I'm sure she'll be a big source of amusement for me. "I'm just a kid, sooo"

Odd that his defeat is being credited to Gusty when it was North Star who rung the bell and Forget-Me-Not who tricked him into opening the gate.

[DreamvalleyMLP]

Well, that premiere sure was something! Lots of fun, but I think this may be the most rushed episode(s) ever. All the inside jokes were a joy (RD saying Luna and Celestia never helping out the mane 6 in their battles, for example ) It's almost as if the writers went through all the fan commentaries of previous episodes and crafted them into this two-parter.

King Sombra seemed a lot less menacing now that we got to hear him speak. I liked him more as a mysterious menacing cloud of darkness whose motivations remained obscure - in comparison. Dude has a seriously bloated ego, that's for sure. All that yapping about how powerful he is

It was okay I guess. I still have questions regarding the events:

Sorry but you are not allowed to view spoiler contents.

That said, I liked the tie-in to G1 and Grogar certainly sounded menacing, moreso than King Somra's new voice.

1. This being a head scratcher is kind of the point, I think. Despite it being anti-magic, Grogar was still able to teleport Tirek & CG out of it; this just hints at Grogar's power being far greater than anything ever seen or understood. Foreshadowing.
2. The elements and the tree are conduits to magic powers, and over time the mane 6 have grown strong and confident enough to summon and harness their power without their trinkets. That's what I got from it, Discord worded it differently at the end but came down to the same point.
3. Good point. Because they had to stretch it out
4. Loved it!
5. Over or under, the end result is the same. Under makes it easier for the earth ponies.

If Grogar is the First Evil (father of villains, as Sombra put it I think), there should have been some mentioning of him long before this premiere. That's the only think that irks me a bit. The rabbit out of a hat thing, like Twilight's brother popping up out of nowhere back in the days.

Discord's hilarious talk at the end was pure gold btw! Lots of laughs there!!

I do hope we get some more explanations on this Grogar's bell, and where it actually is. Hopefully they bring Gusty in (somehow) to defeat Grogar alongside the mane 6.

[SpacePinto]

and Peach Blossom who tricked him into opening the gate.

*Forget-Me-Not

[Ponyfan]

Sorry but you are not allowed to view spoiler contents.

Ponyfan

[tailrustedtealeaf]

and Peach Blossom who tricked him into opening the gate.

*Forget-Me-Not

Ironic!
Yeah, I just watched the Return of Tambelon and I wonder if North Star sort of resented Gusty for getting all the credit for essentially no reason. I would love to see Gusty return in some capacity.

[Leave a Whisper]

and Peach Blossom who tricked him into opening the gate.

*Forget-Me-Not

Whoops!