FiM Finale: The Ending of the End/The Last Problem

[Deep Purple Crystal]

First, I should probably commend the FiM staff for the excellent and insightful titles for these concluding episodes. They may have stayed awake the entire final night of production to decide on them, but it was worth it...

On a semi-related note, well... here we are. It's the end of the road for the main driving force of this generation and, while easily the most concerning for MLP as an actual toyline, the show in itself, whilst not exactly consistent, has definitely been a fun and unique ride (even disregarding the infamous alicorn Twilight and EQG conflicts back during the peak of the bronydom) - I'll always have those memories of the late FiM discussion board, the incongruous TaoBao leaks and, of course, the all-consuming ubiquity of the Pinkies to look back on.

Okay, now that we've wrapped up, where's that 100,000-piece Princess Apple Sweetie Sparkle Cutie Dazzle from Outer Mongolia I've been waiting for all these years? That tear vial is clearly becoming a worthwhile investment at this point.

[Sunset]

Well I’ve been ready to see what comes next for a while but I will admit to getting a little choked up during that last song.  I really appreciate that last “my little pony” tag at the end of the song.   I enjoyed see where everyone ended up and the grown up versions of all the younger characters, especially the Cake twins.

I have to say though, there seemed to be something a little off about the animation.  Sometimes it didn’t look consistent.

[Sparkle Pony]

In spite of the ups and downs, it was fun to go along for the ride with this show. It was a nice way to wrap things up, though I have some degree of doubt this is really the end of G4 seeing as I don't think they are quite done pumping out EQG shorts yet.

The first two epsodes were... alright. Big villain fight, sure, cool. Nothing we haven't seen before honestly. The epilogue though, in spite of some weirdness like swole adult Spike and Pinkie Pie marrying Cheese Sandwich (why), was very touching. I loved seeing a more united Equestria and where characters were all these moons later. I don't think I could have imagined a better ending myself!

Farewell G4. You were an odd beast, but I think I liked you in the end. Raring for G5 though. 

[Mewtwofan1]

It has been a wild ride, but I ride I’ve been proud to be on. Without me getting into the pony scene around 2013 ish, I don’t think I would have chosen my path as I have now. I wouldn’t have been inspired to turn around from science as a career to animation. So, thank you g4. Thank you for the friends you helped me make, lessons I learnt and helping me figure out who and what I am supposed to be and do. Perhaps one day I will be permitted to work on a future pony generation.
     As for the episodes themselves: I liked how everybody (and I mean everybody) made it to that boss fight. Somewhat reminded me of the prelude to the Asriel boss fight in undertale, how all the monsters are rooting for you. Also, a fitting punishment for our three remaining baddies. But now I have to ask: can Celestia and Luna turn creatures to stone without the elements, so long as they have another powerful magic caster working with them?
     It’s heartwarming to see where Equestria went and prospered after the final episode. How the student six grew, all those school fillies and colts became fine mares and stallions, and a few of our great ships were answered after these years. Though, I was studying some of the stained glass artwork in twilights throne room. Aside from her era being made of more angular glass windows, I also have to wonder: what on earth is that image with the student six? If someone could fanfic that or something, that’d be great! I also love how now the Kirin are interested into pony society, and it seems based on the long shot of canterlot that Equestria’s population has increased a lot. Buildings are present in the mid and background that weren’t there before. Looks like the mane six are doing a fine job indeed of ruling Equestria, based on population growth and diversity.

[lonewolf]

  I'm gonna' miss it. 

But I think it went as good as it could. Didn't get any "feels" until the final song and the end.

I did get spoiled on some of the major points of the finale, but there was still stuff I didn't know about. Like Queen Novo also appearing, Twilight doing a blatant Pinky and the Brain reference, why Discord was Grogar, and Glimmy's crowning moment of awesome:

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"Put it on my tab."

Like a bawwwws.
 

[Mewtwofan1]

  I'm gonna' miss it. 


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"Put it on my tab."

Like a bawwwws.

Starlight glimmer: professional bug exterminator with no pesticides. Just a hecking avalanche!

[TJgamer]

Pretty much what everyone else said. Been watching this show for a very long time, and now it has come to an end.
Lots of good memories this show and fandom has brought. Sure, it definitely has had it's flaws, and I'm more than happy to poke fun at them, but I will always be happy to have been involved in this decade of crazy horse fun. 

  Anyway, the two-parter was fun, though admittedly questionable in certain areas.
The lengthy speeches with Twilight wanting to give up could have been done better. The whole magic resistant shards in the castle, as well as how Starlight escaped, wasn't explain nor shown very clearly. And I think we can all agree on Discord's short-sighted plan.

Spoiler

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When we got to that scene, my jaw hit the floor. I was shouting "What? What? What? How? Who? What? Why? Huh?" I do appreciate a good twist, and it does explain some of his actions and words throughout this season. But man, that's gonna sting some G1 fans. And sure, it worked out in the end, but I'm surprised they didn't sentence him to years of toilet cleaning without magic or something. 
  That said, the action was enjoyable as expected. Seeing everyone come together one last time was exciting, including spin-off and movie characters.    And for everyone who complained that this show was redeeming too many baddies. Well, now you got your wish. Now we have a replacement villain statue for the royal garden that Discord once was.
  Definitely not my favorite finale. I'd play Canterlot Wedding, To Where and Back Again, and even Best Night Ever above this. But it's not the worst either. It's mostly in the middle in my eyes. Probably a C+ grade finale; B- if I'm feeling generous.

Then we come to The Last Problem. ...Not going to lie, I "squee'd" quite a bit. Seeing all these characters grown up and living new lives made me wanna gush with bittersweetness. The Cake twins finally aged up!  Rarity's grey streak in her mane stands out. Gallus is a royal guard? Sweet! And Pinkie is the only one of the mane 6 to be confirmed married with children. 

Spoiler

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I think the reason why time skips like this are so effective is because up until this point we've associated these characters with their relative youth. And next thing we know, they have all matured in drastic ways. It's like seeing your child grow up so fast, only this is literally in an instant.
There are a couple nitpicks. Such as once again the lack of distinct labels causing problems, and we don't get to see Flurry Heart grown up at all (outside of a stained glass window) nor her family. I guess they really don't want us to see Cadance in more aged frail state, if that is even the case for her. Same goes for Celestia and Luna.
But anyway, the lesson about putting in the effort to maintain friendship is a very good one, and fitting for the series finale. It is very easy to drift apart, especially when you have separate and long-distance relationships. But making time regularly to spend time together helps keep that bond strengthened.
And that song. Not my favorite, but...it does hit the heart. Especially with all the characters being painted into the background. And, of course...

Spoiler

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We all knew it had to end this way.

And, that's it. We're done. The G4 train has finally reached the station.
I'll likely look back on this show and reminisce; maybe talk about our favorite/least favorite parts.
But until then, keep a lookout for G5 and pony on!
 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0uMCrahRFo

[Al-1701]

The G4 did finally reach the station.  And, as we should have expected, it overshot the platform, hit a wall, and exploded into flames.

Spoiler

Let's deal with the mismatched abomination of nature first.  I was really liking the plot related to Grogar and his Legion of Doom.  It's some of the best writing this show has had in years.  But then they pull this, and not just in the finale but to start it off.  It was a dumb move by Discord, but it was also a dumb move by the people running the show.  You had created an excellent character with a mythos behind him not just from what he referenced but within the series itself.  And it turns out to just be Discord is disguise?  It makes me feel like they didn't know how to use Grogar for a final fight even though the conclusion for dealing with the Trio is the standard get everyone together, give the same old power of friendship speech, and smash them with a rainbow laser.

The Trio at least showed they were competent at villainy and Starlight Glimmer actually had a fight that was interesting with an interesting finisher.  It didn't work, but it was more enjoyable than Friendship Spectrum Attack.

However, I have to wonder about Celestia's ability to rule since she apparently couldn't even keep the ponies united.  They were willing to work together when times were good, but the moment even minor inconveniences start, they fracture.  Me thinks they could learn for the G1 ponies where being attacked by an eldritch horror is called Tuesday and they see themselves as ponies first, not their particular species.  This almost makes me feel like Faust was wrong to give the ponies their own kingdom, or at least did a bad job of developing it.  I mean, sure, our current politics shows people within a nation can be deeply divided, but I want to escape that when I'm watching candy colored ponies.

The final fight was sadly what we've seen before.  They reach their darkest hour and Twilight gets pulled out of the fire by her friends at the last minute only with more of them.  Then she makes her speech and hits the bad guys with the Rainbow.  There is no denying it, for a supposed intellectual, Twilight is an idiot.  Wind Whistler, Bright Eyes, and Kimono are just standing there gobsmacked at how incompetent she is and yet she is going to rule a country.  I'm mean, I guess she wouldn't turn her back on the Kurds, so she would be an improvement over what we have in real life, but we're living in the worst possible timeline at the moment.  (I need to stop with these political tangents.)

And can we just kill the bad guys?  You turned them to stone?  Remember when it was the bad guys who turned things to stone?  I do.

And then we get the epilogue and predictably they botch the coronation because of course they botched the coronation.  Characters botch a ceremony is a trope with this series and we just did that plot last week and arguably the week before.  I have no opinion of Luster Dawn because she seems to just be a stand in for Episode Twilight.  And I see what you did there, you followed the celestial occurrence synonym for Sparkle thing only you reversed the order.  How clever.

I also wanted to see more of the future, not a rehash of a tired plot on this show.  Make the coronation the ending of the two parter and spend the epilogue in the future.  Make Luster Dawn an actual character.  Show some creativity.

The show ended as it ran, so much potential but in the end played it safe and stayed on the well beaten path.  Of course, it and its fans will act like it's the superior MLP show, which on bare mechanics might be true.  However, I think it lacked much of a soul in its storytelling.  It had so much but decided to do so little with it.  Here's hoping G5 is more ambiti...who am I kidding?  They're going to use the exact same characters again because Hasbro has decided the My Little Pony is just six ponies.

I'm going to go back to the G1 camp.  There's something about MLP I do enjoy, but I'm not holding out much hope for its future.  I might be surprised, though.

[Pinkie21]

Decided to watch again.  I saw the leak and wasn’t that impressed, but decided to check it out when it was actually aired for real. 

Spoiler

I’m still thrilled that we actually have villains that didn’t reform!  Steven Universe is terrible with its redemption of all villains, but I’m so happy this series decided to not go that route. 

The more I think of the whole “Grogar is Discord” thing, the more I think that is incredibly lazy.  I suppose it was too late in the game to introduce a new villain.  But he wasn’t even needed.  Why not just take him out of the equation and have those 3 villains get together of their own volition? 

How old are these older Main 6 in the epilogue?  The “middle-aged” look wasn’t really prevalent in the series.  It was baby, young, adult, elderly.  That was kinda weird.

In the end, I’m absolutely  thrilled this thing is finally over.  I really hope the next one just goes back to mindless commercialism like MLP is supposed to be, rather than shoving love and friendship and all that ridiculousness down our throats.

[StarSwirl05]

Spoiler

I wasn't really impressed with the final episodes. I don't understand why Twilight didn't teleport everyone to Canterlot when they already said they were late to getting on the train. Discord being Grogar kinda rendered the past several episodes featuring him moot. Also, why didn't they show the coronation in full? Instead we had this back-and-forth chit-chat with a pony that was clearly not interested in friendship. Plus it was completely out of nowhere to start the episode with everyone aged up after Twilight had said "I'm gonna wait to hold the coronation". Another thing was why does that mean Twilight has to leave her friends behind? Why can't Celestia and Luna stay in the castle and have Twilight stay in Ponyville? Scootaloo is now teaching? Sorry but what qualifications did she meet? Also, what was the point in saying the magic didn't work when clearly magic can get through?

[tailrustedtealeaf]

I wasn't particularly upset with it earlier but I do look more kindly at it on repeat viewings. The recent leak shows that they wanted Discoshy to kiss and some sort of hint that Appledash had become a couple. Putting my shipping stuff aside-
I still feel odd about Cozy Glow. She's a kid? She's like, 5.

[Al-1701]

And that's the issue with Cozy.  She's presented as a little pyschopath as if they wanted us to be okay with them doing these things to little girl.  It didn't feel right last season, it doesn't feel right this season.

[Pinkie21]

About Cozy, I’m still absolutely thrilled with how her arc ended, because of this reaction.  Whatever your age, if you commit a crime knowingly you should pay for it.  That’s one of the few lessons this show got right.

[Al-1701]

Which I would agree with if she was a teenager.  However, they essentially took a psychotic teenager and put her in a cute little filly's body for shock value.

Last season I also didn't like she was used to get the stand-in for Betsy DeVos off the hook.  They were getting into a discussion about racis...SQUIRREL!

[otocolobus_manul]

About Cozy, I’m still absolutely thrilled with how her arc ended, because of this reaction.  Whatever your age, if you commit a crime knowingly you should pay for it.  That’s one of the few lessons this show got right.

Yep! She proved that she was a terrible person with absolutely no regard for others, and that she was just as cruel and sadistic as the other 2. She was never going to reform because she didn’t want to. You can’t help someone if they refuse to be helped.

Post Merge: October 13, 2019, 12:56:31 PM

Which I would agree with if she was a teenager.  However, they essentially took a psychotic teenager and put her in a cute little filly's body for shock value.

I mean, they’re hardly the first to have a child villain. Plus, there are children who do absolutely terrible things in real life. I’d give an example but that would be a bit dark for this forum, haha. That being said, where are this child’s parents?

[Starlight Glimmer voice] What’s with this sassy... lost child? [points at Cozy Glow]

I feel like they wanted to have another ~surprise twist villain~ who looks nonthreatening and doesn’t fit the usual “big, monstrous creature with harsh, dark colors” mold, but they realized that if they made her an adult she’d look too much like Starlight Glimmer.