MLP:FiM Season 9, Episode 12 - "The Last Crusade"

[TJgamer]

Posting this a little bit early, as I've already seen the Italian/English airing.
http://mlparena.com/index.php/topic,395481.0.html

Anyway, I'm going to start with the fact that...

Spoiler

Scootaloo has a house?! And she's not an orphan?!
Okay, that last one we kinda already knew from "Parental Glideance", but really this episode finally addresses Scootaloo's family relations; something we've been wanting for years now.

Anywho, this was a very heartfelt episode with some well deserved tears. That whole scene where they just cry their eyes out in the clubhouse was great (and certainly more effective than Tanks for the Memories  ).

Scootaloo's parents are alright and reasonable, albeit a tad oblivious to Scootaloo's sorrow. I hear their designs are supposed to be a reference to Jurassic Park, and I can believe that given their occupations.
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Though if anything, I got more of a Hey, Arnold! vibe from them, if you know what I mean and I've hardly seen that show.

The ending was sweet too; seeing all the characters they have affected. It really felt like the ultimate culmination of the Cutie Mark Crusaders as a whole. 

And can I just say that Aunt Holiday is so precious and huggable? 
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Also, no joke, for a moment I thought Auntie Lofty was First Folio from "The Point of No Return". 
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All in all, a lovable episode. It didn't it got quite as much of a reaction out of me as "Crusaders of the Lost Mark" did, but I think it was suitable for what may be the final CMC episode.

Sorry if my thoughts were rushed, and obviously they are very subject to change. I'll probably comment further once I have given it more thought and hear what you guys think.

[Zapper]

It was a solid episode and it was cute but I feel like the writers should have brought up her parents way earlier.
It was just so weird that we never really heard of any of these characters and now that the show is ending it looks like Scootaloo got a family out of the blue to make her existence not too sad.
They could have at least said the aunts names a couple seasons earlier to establish she is not some kind of Oliver Twist wandering around Ponyville

[Al-1701]

Spoiler

I can already see brony fics of Scootaloo's dad meeting a bad end at the stinger of a stingray.  A blond American mother and an Australian father who work with rare and dangerous creatures and have a young daughter is so on the nose it has snot on it.

Spoiler

The episode was cute enough.  Though, of course, friendship over all else.  I guess even the final season can't break that and tell the audience sometimes friends can't always be close together physically.

[StarSwirl05]

Spoiler

1. Tying knots qualifies as a talent?
2. Random gate in front of the school doorway?
3. Oh and let's have an alligator interrupt class time. Safe and not dangerous at all. 
4. Did we not learn from when we created a potion for anything beforehand?
5. For once, Rainbow wasn't a douche. Yay I guess?

[Pinkie21]

Okay, I honestly didn’t like the message of this episode, and I don’t like at all how it was resolved.

Spoiler

I’ve always had an issue with these 3 getting the same symbols.  Most friendships that start in childhood don’t last.  If they do, it’s still a probability that the friends will move or something.  Why not show Scootaloo moving away and showing that they can still be friends and write and stuff.  They could have closed out Scootaloo’s chapter in the series, but nope! 
Also, I didn’t like how they placed more importance on friends rather than family.  Family always takes precedence over something so trivial like friendship.  Anyway, I liked seeing her aunts, but despised the point of the episode. 

[kingluke]

I really liked the episode and it was really heartfelt, shed some manly tears here.
In real life this obviously wouldn't work, but I like that in this pony world, it can.
Those Aussie parents tho

Really loved the aunts. They are so great!

[Sora]

Okay, I honestly didn’t like the message of this episode, and I don’t like at all how it was resolved.

Spoiler

I’ve always had an issue with these 3 getting the same symbols.  Most friendships that start in childhood don’t last.  If they do, it’s still a probability that the friends will move or something.  Why not show Scootaloo moving away and showing that they can still be friends and write and stuff.  They could have closed out Scootaloo’s chapter in the series, but nope! 
Also, I didn’t like how they placed more importance on friends rather than family.  Family always takes precedence over something so trivial like friendship.  Anyway, I liked seeing her aunts, but despised the point of the episode. 

Spoiler

Same, I've always hated how they ended up with matching symbols. I would say that episode was one of the ones that made me lose interest in the show.

I'm really surprised they didn't show Scootaloo leaving, though. This series has the chance to be really helpful to children and explain some difficult situations to them in a way they can understand, but they choose the easy route out. Always. Even other shows have dealt with this and allowed kids to see the harsher side of reality (Timothy Goes to School is geared towards even younger kids, but they still showed one character moving away, and taught kids how to deal with that).

[Pinkie21]

Okay, I honestly didn’t like the message of this episode, and I don’t like at all how it was resolved.

Spoiler

I’ve always had an issue with these 3 getting the same symbols.  Most friendships that start in childhood don’t last.  If they do, it’s still a probability that the friends will move or something.  Why not show Scootaloo moving away and showing that they can still be friends and write and stuff.  They could have closed out Scootaloo’s chapter in the series, but nope! 
Also, I didn’t like how they placed more importance on friends rather than family.  Family always takes precedence over something so trivial like friendship.  Anyway, I liked seeing her aunts, but despised the point of the episode. 

Spoiler

Same, I've always hated how they ended up with matching symbols. I would say that episode was one of the ones that made me lose interest in the show.

I'm really surprised they didn't show Scootaloo leaving, though. This series has the chance to be really helpful to children and explain some difficult situations to them in a way they can understand, but they choose the easy route out. Always. Even other shows have dealt with this and allowed kids to see the harsher side of reality (Timothy Goes to School is geared towards even younger kids, but they still showed one character moving away, and taught kids how to deal with that).

Spoiler

This is why the show irritates me so badly sometimes.  It always takes the easy way out.  It paints the world as some beautiful place where everything works out for everybody all the time.  Not saying kids should be shown that the world is terrible.  They’ll find that out for themselves soon enough.  But it’s not bad to show them that they can’t always get what they want.  Most parents don’t have the choice to leave their minor children behind because “friends”.  Show them that the CMC will be fine if Scoots moves away.  Show them that she makes new friends while still keeping the CMC in her heart.  Show Gabby or somebody new taking Scoot’s place in the group.  But the writers totally screwed up with this message.  Letting Scootaloo 100% call the shots in the relationship with her parents is foolish and unreasonable.  [/spoilers]

[Al-1701]

Okay, I honestly didn’t like the message of this episode, and I don’t like at all how it was resolved.

Spoiler

I’ve always had an issue with these 3 getting the same symbols.  Most friendships that start in childhood don’t last.  If they do, it’s still a probability that the friends will move or something.  Why not show Scootaloo moving away and showing that they can still be friends and write and stuff.  They could have closed out Scootaloo’s chapter in the series, but nope! 
Also, I didn’t like how they placed more importance on friends rather than family.  Family always takes precedence over something so trivial like friendship.  Anyway, I liked seeing her aunts, but despised the point of the episode. 

Spoiler

Same, I've always hated how they ended up with matching symbols. I would say that episode was one of the ones that made me lose interest in the show.

I'm really surprised they didn't show Scootaloo leaving, though. This series has the chance to be really helpful to children and explain some difficult situations to them in a way they can understand, but they choose the easy route out. Always. Even other shows have dealt with this and allowed kids to see the harsher side of reality (Timothy Goes to School is geared towards even younger kids, but they still showed one character moving away, and taught kids how to deal with that).

Spoiler

This is why the show irritates me so badly sometimes.  It always takes the easy way out.  It paints the world as some beautiful place where everything works out for everybody all the time.  Not saying kids should be shown that the world is terrible.  They’ll find that out for themselves soon enough.  But it’s not bad to show them that they can’t always get what they want.  Most parents don’t have the choice to leave their minor children behind because “friends”.  Show them that the CMC will be fine if Scoots moves away.  Show them that she makes new friends while still keeping the CMC in her heart.  Show Gabby or somebody new taking Scoot’s place in the group.  But the writers totally screwed up with this message.  Letting Scootaloo 100% call the shots in the relationship with her parents is foolish and unreasonable.  [/spoilers]

Spoiler

And what's really terrible is this show continues to put itself out there are the instruction manual on friendship.  Yet, it's message has reached truly toxic levels.  There are a dozen episode left outside of the series finale, they could remove Scoots and it not matter.  Yet they still copped out.

Also, I wanted to hear the weather factory lesson.  Scootaloo, do you exist ruin this show for me?

[Sunset]

Spoiler

I agree that it was a wasted opportunity to allow them to learn that you can be friends over distance.  And doesn’t make sense.  There is no reason why they can’t each help other ponies find their talents while living apart.  In a way, that would be better because a larger number of ponies that could be helped if they each lived in different places.

But I guess it’s to be expected since the mane 6 all live in ponyville and seem to work 2 or 3 jobs when those circumstances wouldn’t work in real life.