Season 9 Finale on Dutch Streaming Site

[Carrehz]

Just please, PLEASE don’t make the new franchise shove friendship down our collective throats.  Let’s just watch colorful equines go on little girly adventures and sell toys.  That’s all I ever want MLP to be.

Hear hear!

[Zapper]

Alright, so the English version:

Spoiler

I liked Luster Dawn in the beginning, when she thought friendship was a waste of time.  She’s not wrong about any of what she said.  Yet Twilight made her weak in the end.  Of course this show is going to teach “the magic of friendship” and all that ridiculousness.  But I didn’t like how quickly it turned from “friendship is a waste of time and energy” to “oh wait you guys still see each other every year?  Yay friendship!” 

Another thing... Twilight’s voice REALLY did not suit her new form.  She still sounds like a tiny little pony, not a majestic regal beast of a horse.  Then again, all she controls is friendship so I guess she doesn’t need to have a strong vocal presence to do that. 

Did...did the real Princesses actually go to that nursing home?  Granted I think they simply referred to Silver Shoals as a retirement village of some sort, but let’s get real.  It’s a nursing home.  Look at Luna!  Does she *really* look like she needs to live in an old folks’  home? 

Lastly, I’m still so glad Cozy Glow got turned to stone.  I’ve seen stuff on various other pages where people are unhappy she never got to be redeemed, and that’s exactly why I’m thrilled she didn’t.  I love that there are villains that have never been reformed.  Like, I enjoy Steven Universe but the constant redeeming villains trope is grating and unrealistic.  There are bad people in the world, and you can’t talk or befriend them into submission.  I’m happy this series at least acknowledges that fact, where SU tries to paint the world in an overly naive, “love solves everything” kind of light.  So I have to give this series credit where credit is due.

And now, onward to G5!  Just please, PLEASE don’t make the new franchise shove friendship down our collective throats.  Let’s just watch colorful equines go on little girly adventures and sell toys.  That’s all I ever want MLP to be.

Spoiler

My issue with the "stoning" is that it was done because the series wrapped up. They redeemed worse villains than Cozy Glow in the past. Discord even acted villainous after his "redemption" like I pointed out before. And he only ever got angry looks and peptalks. Starlight tried to undo the entire Princess of Friendship thing and never had to spend time in Tartarus. Yet normal animals were thrown into Tartarus for being magical.

Cozy on the other side is just a crazy child without any magical powers. It's not like they killed her, we all know they can reverse the stone magic (as they did to Discord) but it shows how hastily they had to write this plotline. I did not want to see her redeemed at all. But let's face it, the only truly dangerous guy was Tirek and he was locked away until Discord freed him.

I so don't believe they did this to show that some people are irredeemable. The show just ended and they had to force a happy end.

Btw, I laughed at "nursing home". It still baffles me they never explored the princesses further. Who made them alicorns? Why were they so old? And now they are just going away because being a princess was just a job for them. Weird.

I guess it's time to admit this show was never meant to run for 9 seasons. It's like Hasbro still doesn't understand why MLP is popular after all these years. I feel like they threw a bunch of things against a wall to see which one sticks. They seemingly had no plan but to sell M6 over and over again

Post Merge: September 08, 2019, 10:29:36 AM

About the plot twist...

Spoiler

Why did nobody acknowledge that Discord practically raised the dead? People complain about Twilight being too powerful but the chaos guy resurrected a "killed off" villain from the shadow zone like it's no big deal and then got him "killed" again.
Back when we thought he was Grogar it made sense because we were to believe Grogar is a necromancer. But now we know Discord is actually a necromancer on top of being already crazy powerful. He is more godlike than any of the Princesses could ever be

Spoiler

Even though Grogar was never a necromancer in the original series.  He was a sorcerer using a powerful object, but none of his powers had anything to do with the dead.

And Discord has officially become the worst interpretation of Q, an imp there to torment the character for his sick pleasure.  They probably thought this was like the ending of "All Good Things" not realizing it was Picard's actions that led to the anomaly of doom (Q was just displacing him through time).  Instead this comes off more like Mxyzptlk.  Only Discord won't get whisked off the cornfield if he says or spells his name backwards.

Also, this twist is just plain stupid.  It's one last middle finger to the older fans as this isn't Grogar but a fake.  After Roid Tirek and the radioactive booger, they struck out on references to the past series.  Do they hate the legacy of this brand at DHX?  And, as I said, Discord has devolved into an imp.  It's also a disservice to Twilight and crew that Discord set up a crisis for them to solve instead of this being an actual crisis.

Spoiler

Spoiler

I guess they wanted to use Tirek but they already used his schtick for Nightmare Moon so they turned him into a brute. As someone who doesn'f read the comics I was weirded out by Discord mentioning his father and how he wanted to impress him. I was like "ok I guess I have to read the comics to find out what that means?"

Never big on Star Trek so I can't say how much they took from Q but can I just say how lazy I think it is to hire an actor and then have him play a cartoon version of his Star Trek character? Why was this show so reference heavy? This is like Mudbriar essentially being Sheldon from TBBT. They just had so many "pony versions" of characters that already existed. Where is the imagination in that? They even acted like the hourglass pony was a legit reincarnation of The Doctor. Who needs this stuff? Dr. Who fans? Star Trek fans? I doubt these types of fans will watch MLP because they had Shatner's voice in one ep.

[Al-1701]

Spoiler

It all comes down to the bronies.  Bronies come from the larger nerd culture for the most part, so referencing nerd culture make them feel the show is meant for them (which they need because even at the end they don't want to admit they like something meant for little girls).

As for Tirac/Tirek (couldn't they be bothered to learn how to spell and SAY their name), "The Night That Never Ends" was the obvious stated goal.  However, if you look at the real Tirac, his realm, castle, and underlings were all corruptions.  The probably with Tirek is his endgame was stupid.  He wanted to absorb all the magic in Equestria to turn into a kaiju and destroy stuff?  What?  That's all you have?

Really, both Discord and Tirek demonstrate what was wrong with this series.  It was written by unimaginative people.  They could get away with it because they had an audience that was appeased by stroking their egos, but there was no vision for this series.  That's why the villains ended up all falling flat in the end.  That's why friendship was shoved so far down the audience's throat.  That's why there seemed to be an overtone of pony (especially unicorn) master race and borderline racist depictions of the other species.  That's why this last half of the final season seemed intended to make us hate these characters.  These writers were out of their depth but no one held them responsible.

[Zapper]

I think as far as villains go Chrysalis was the best one (because at first it looked like she only followed her species instincts and was a rather good leader... of course they had to turn her evil after that), followed by Discord who was an interesting foe with his genie magic and literal chaotic nature.

Sunset, Tempest, Luna and Starlight were written to be redeemed so I don't count them. Notice how all of them are ponies connected to Twilight.

Cozy, Tirek and Sombra were just powerhungry and they really could have used them better. Sombra in the two-parter of S9 almost made me feel bad for him because all of a sudden he had a personality and was a real character.
Cozy left me wondering where the heck she came from. She had no backstory at all and I think that was a waste. Tirek is probably the worst villain because yeah, his goal was just to be big?

Spoiler

Discord's throwaway comment about his daddy issues couldn't have been placed in the actual Tirek arc? Because that would have at least explained things a bit more.

I think Tirek in FiM was supposed to be a Dragon Ball Z reference? Because that's what I always read about him. His power level is always rising and he shoots lasers and throws mountains on ponies. I find him entertaining but if the G1 version was in G5 I would rejoice. He was so menacing and regal. Along with Grogar he is a classic MLP villain to me.

[Shadowperla]

Cozy left me wondering where the heck she came from. She had no backstory at all and I think that was a waste.

I remember how a friend said:

I guess the next villain after Cozy Glow would be a living teaparty, with episode called "See, We Are Totally Denouncing Girly Things!"

[Lady Frostbite]

Tirek is probably the worst villain because yeah, his goal was just to be big?

Hey, come on now, a bro wants Gains, he's got a way of doin' it! We can't all hit the gym in Tartarus!

I really wanted Chrysalis fleshed out. I was so sure that Luna and Celestia suddenly retiring was some sort of Changling-related plot, especially with Celestia's change of expression when she announced 'TO RETIRE!'. It seems the writers forgot she can feed on any emotion, just love is the strongest for her (actually, scratch that, she probably just went for the easiest option that would be the most tasty). I'm half-tempted to do some weird fanfic where she really is a 'villain' but only to ponies; to her people, she's a great and caring leader, and do the Thorax part different.

[Zapper]

Cozy left me wondering where the heck she came from. She had no backstory at all and I think that was a waste.

I remember how a friend said:

I guess the next villain after Cozy Glow would be a living teaparty, with episode called "See, We Are Totally Denouncing Girly Things!"

I don't quite get this because Fluttershy always had teaparties and nobody ever said it was bad?

What I thought was iffy about Cozy is that she was based on Shirley Temple and the writers seemed to be so proud of that fact? How Shirley was treated was awful. It never sat right with me. Same as when I found out Darla Dimple in Cats Don't Dance was based on Shirley. Damn, did Shirley Temple commit a crime I am unaware of? She was preyed on by adult men and had to act in movies where she played a

Spoiler

child prostitute

.

Seeing that and going "ahh wouldn't it be funny if she wasn't the victim but the attacker?" just boggles my mind.
Coupled with Cozy not getting any background except "she's powerhungry" made me believe they just tried to be edgy with this character.

I kept on thinking she was not actually a child or at first I thought she was Chrysalis. But no, she's just an evil child based on Shirley Temple. What.

[Al-1701]

Being edgy is probably the mindset with her.  Increasingly it seems bronies are the staff the staff are bronies.  Like they forgot who the show was meant for.  Hence why the message has grown to be so toxic.  Adults can understand the intent to be funny, but this show has been telling little kids, presented in what is supposed to be an instructive way, some terrible things.  Though, it's probably to validate the staff and bronies' warped view of the world.

At the end of the day, I think history will not be kind to Friendship is Magic.  It will be a show that had a promising beginning, but it never bothered to establish an identity and its fame (or rather infamy) will be more defined by the peripheral fanbase it garnered instead of the show or toys themselves.  Perhaps the one benefit will be what came before being looked upon more fondly in retrospect.

[Zapper]

I am repeating myself but I hope they change some of the higher ups for G5. We need this to be a proper kids cartoon again.
A lot of problems I had with the writing of FiM are based in the writers failing to marry "nerdy geek show" with "wholesome kids show".

The two concepts don't mesh very well, imo.

MLP is iconic by itself. It doesn't need a cacophony of references, dated internet memes and character templates based on fanon ideas and characters from other shows.
If MLP G5 was in the hands of people who put kids first that would be already a good start.

As someone working in kids games and media, I can't just create something a mass of people will like. I have to put the kids interests first and then decide if I can meet these interests while still keeping in mind if it's actually good for the kids. That's what we call pedagogy.

Not to derail too much but for instance, I hate these L.O.L. sexy baby dolls MGAE produces. I think it's bothersome how the babies are styled and how there are so many parodies of actual products and references to adult pop singers. It's more consumerist than other toy brands.

They sell like hotcakes but that doesn't mean the product has a good message.
FiM became a bit like the L.O.L. dolls. Pop culture references, style over substance, some themes that are not suited for kids while actual important themes (such as dealing with the loss of a parent) were glossed over and excused with the ~childfriendliness of the show.

Using an abused child star of the 30s/40s as your basis for an iredeemable villain while a gaslighting, abusive guy becomes a young woman's best friend because she officially "redeemed him" is just... I don't care if I am overthinking this but I wish people would scream "think of the children" when it really counts. Not just in FiM but most kids cartoons. Why are kids shielded from the word "DEATH" in a show that teaches that little kids are born evil. Seriously...

I will shut up now

[Dragonflitter]

Okay it has been TORTUER to avoid this thread for so long, but I just found the last three episodes uploaded to youtube as one long movie and I finished it and I'm crying too hard to see the computer screen, so I'll come back after I've compaosed myself. 

[tailrustedtealeaf]

"tissues for dragonflitter* That it's still easy to find the episodes on YouTube amazes me. It feels like they just don't care ha. Funny that FiM lasted through the dawn of copyright coming down on YouTube through the super tricky new copyright system.

[Ragamuffin]

"tissues for dragonflitter* That it's still easy to find the episodes on YouTube amazes me. It feels like they just don't care ha. Funny that FiM lasted through the dawn of copyright coming down on YouTube through the super tricky new copyright system.

Right?? If there's an episode I want to watch it's pretty easily accessible most of the time. EQG I have had a harder time searching for though...

[Zapper]

"tissues for dragonflitter* That it's still easy to find the episodes on YouTube amazes me. It feels like they just don't care ha. Funny that FiM lasted through the dawn of copyright coming down on YouTube through the super tricky new copyright system.

Right?? If there's an episode I want to watch it's pretty easily accessible most of the time. EQG I have had a harder time searching for though...

Probably just doesn't get pirated as much

[Dragonflitter]

Wow... well I dried my eyes and got all ready to share my thoughts on this awesome finale but... I'm just going to leave instead.  After reading 10 pages of nothing but people ranting about ship this and ship that and complaining about character designs being ugly and saying how bad it was that the ending didn't go the way you wanted it to go.


I thought this thread was going to be a celebration of the end of FiM, and I was all ready to share how much love I feel for this show, how proud I am that it lasted nine years and reached out and touched so many people, how excited I was to see new and old characters come together in this awesome finale.

Did season 9 cover every single thing I wanted to see before the end of FiM? No. It's not like I'm blind to it having any flaws. I would have liked to see more Flurry Heart and Zecora, and have some questions answered that never will be. But I'm not going to sit here and rant about how the show didn't give me what I want and how terrible it has become. No one, not even a whole team of people, can do everything perfectly. Instead of focusing on what YOU wanted, why not appreciate what we got?

But I've noticed it before, almost no one around here wants to look at anything in a positive light when it comes to FiM. People only care about ranting and complaining to each other about how they would have done it better, like people in an old folks home.

It's hard to talk about the things you love when you're surrounded by people who just complain about it all the time. I felt on top of the world watching the finale of FiM, but coming here I just feel like a damp, clammy cloud covered me and took away the excitement I felt. I'm just going to save my write-up about all the amazing things in this finale and take it somewhere else.

[SaraMari]

Dragonflitter, "ranting and complaining to each other about how they would have done it better, like people in an old folks home" not only was that rude it is ageist.

Personally I enjoy here on the Arena people can express critique on G4, whereas in lots of G4 groups it seems like they really gloss over the bad things of FiM

I have not enjoyed FiM for several years sadly. The writing was just not that good, too busy adding in things for bronies, damaging friendship "lessons" and a lack of coherent characterization and world building/plot. I'm glad MLP is still going strong, just with so many high quality kids shows nowadays I want to see it reach those levels.

Also one thing I've never liked in any kind of media is pairing characters up just for the sake of having couples/wrapping things up. Especially characters that didn't express romantic interests beforehand.