It was okay I guess. I still have questions regarding the events:
Spoiler
1. If Tartarus is anti-magic, how were Tirek and Cozy Glow freed?
2. So now the Mane Six can defeat villains out of thin air? What then was the point of the Tree of Harmony?
3. Why didn't Twilight teleport into the castle when they first arrived and faced the army of Sombra's new minions?
4. Are the writers really using the show's predictability as humor?
5. Why couldn't the group just either attempt to climb out the top or in between the gaps in the crystal's peaks?
That said, I liked the tie-in to G1 and Grogar certainly sounded menacing, moreso than King Somra's new voice.
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:
Spoiler
1. If Tartarus is anti-magic, how were Tirek and Cozy Glow freed?
2. So now the Mane Six can defeat villains out of thin air? What then was the point of the Tree of Harmony?
3. Why didn't Twilight teleport into the castle when they first arrived and faced the army of Sombra's new minions?
4. Are the writers really using the show's predictability as humor?
5. Why couldn't the group just either attempt to climb out the top or in between the gaps in the crystal's peaks?
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.
2. Keep in mind the Tree of Harmony was created by the Pillars, who didn't have a complete understanding of friendship; especially Starswirl. So I kinda see it as a crutch of some sort that is no longer required.
3. That is a legit question.
4. I guess so. It has been over 8 years now, so patterns are a lot more noticeable.
5. Sort of the same question I had in the season 5 premiere when Twilight and her friends hardly put up a fight against Starlight and her cutie mark magic. A slight tweak in the animation or storyboarding could have helped. Just imagine that the prison is covered too thoroughly for them to fly out. Honestly, the bigger question is why didn't Sombra just take control of them right then, but that's just your typical villain cliché; wanting to see their foe try and fail.
I really enjoyed the episodes overall and thought for the most part it was a great season opener.
Spoiler
I figured there'd be some kind of trick involved where Celestia and Luna would end up still ruling Equestria. at the end.
I think Starswirl mentioned in a previous episode that the true Elements of Harmony are always inside their bearers so the Element Gems and the Tree of Harmony aren't really necessary in order to activate them.
I didn't see Sunburst at all in the Crystal Empire. Wouldn't he be trying to protect Flurry Heart even if Cadance and Shining Armor each thought the other was looking after her? I was a little disappointed with how Flurry's kidnapping turned out. It seemed Sombra just wanted to capture the royal family so he could control/break the Crystal Heart although I was surprised that he had all 3 of them muzzled when they were forced to bow before him (I guess that was only until they were put in the black crystal prison).
I liked Grogar. He's the first G1 to G4 villain that I felt has actually done the most justice to his character. I liked the mention of Gusty the Great defeating him by taking his bell. I think Grogar's magic is powerful enough to transcend the rules of Equestrian magic. Tirek and Sombra talked like they lived in the same time period as Grogar previously Chrysalis seemed to just know how he was defeated from the story.
We also didn't see Thorax or any threat against the Changeling kingdom. I'm assuming everything happened too quickly for word to reach Thorax but I thought he might show up and help Twilight defeat Sombra.
I'm not a big fan of Discord. Telling Sombra who his favorite pony wasn't a smart move (even if he was faking being injured)
I actually laughed at Rainbow Dash's line when she said "The Princesses never help!"
Ponyfan
Spoiler
I'm also wondering if most creatures believe that Grogar's story is just a fairy tale read to children and not something that actually happened so that's why his sudden appearance surprises everyone and the fact that he was able to summon the remaining villains (even Sombra who was reduced to shadows the first time)
Ponyfan
I wasn't wowed by it and I honestly cut the writers some slack in the past. I am not surprised it is yet again a two-parter, slice of life, two-parter format because it has always been. But since this season should wrap up the series it should really feel more grand and better written.
So here is my big issue:Spoiler
Deus Ex Discord and the Crystal Empire getting overthrown like nothing.
I have always hated that they brought Discord back because he is just too powerful and every time he isn't, it's because he chooses to be a jerk. We have seen this so many times before. It would have actually been good if Sombra would have drained him of his powers until the end of the season, similar to how Tirek fooled him.
Speaking of Tirek... so I am not mad that he is now Grogar's subordinate. The G4 Tirek is very different from my fave G1 villain. Chrysalis also makes sense in some way. Both of them gave powers Grogar can use.
But I don't get why Cozy Glow is still here. Grogar must have severe issues if he thought "ah yes, the power of baby!"
Cozy is a fun sidekick to Tirek but ehh... can she please be revealed as something more sinister? If Grogar is so old and powerful, surely he would have thought of a better villain than her.
Would have been cool to see the Sirens again or someone new.
I already saw a new Yak Yakistan episode is in the pipeline, so I guess this season won't be as epic as the trailer made it out to be.
PS: Luna saying it was "fun" to fight for Equestria made me realize that every single time she was knocked out when something went down. If anyone should be the new ruler it should be Nightmare Moon :P
I think they chose Gusty for the alliteration. And I think it's clear this is a different continuity from G1. There was no mention of Tambelon here.
And I'm glad they had a sensible character designer for this one. Tirek is in his optimal form (powerful but not ridiculous looking), and Grogar looks awesome.
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The random friendship beam is stupid. Why can these six do it but no one else?
Spoiler
It’s clear that Grogar has been lurking behind the scenes watching the events of the past seasons and selecting the remaining villains that he thought would be useful. I think he picked Cozy because she’s very good at manipulating others and also can pull off the “innocent pony” act very well although I’m not sure who in Equestria would still not be suspicious of her.
This might also give Chrysalis to challenge Thorax for the Changeling kingdom but after what happened to Sombra I’m sure Tirek, Chrysalis and Cozy would rather work with Grogar than be eliminated or tapped in Tartarus.
I think the black crystal prisons that Sombra created could only be escaped by either digging under as Twilight and her friends did or they might have some kind of power that drains the usual abilities of its prisoners. When the royal family was trapped in one Cadence made no attempt to fly out.
Ponyfan
I found the premier overall enjoyable! I won't lie, parts of it felt much more like a finale than a season opener, but I suppose that makes sense for this season. ;)
Spoiler
I really dislike how Celestia and Luna handled their retirement announcement. Like...theres just so much to unpack there. First of all...the longest period of peace? How?? When?? When is this season taking place in their timeline? They have so much stuff happening all that time! And next, you're going to transfer all your power to the new group in just a few days! Thats absurd! Twilight was completely in the right here, there needs to be training! You can't just step in and take over a country, even if you've been "trained" to do so since the beginning. While its true the princesses dont seem to do much, I'm sure there is a lot happening behind the scenes that we don't know about! I felt so bad for Twilight through this whole story, honestly.
The villain team was fun to see! :) Cozy Glow was really funny throughout. I liked her telling Grogar his defeat hadn't really been all the brief. :P It's also neat how its implied the G1 canon is a part of this shows canon! I really hope we get to see Gusty, even if its just in a flash back! It was nice to see Sombra get some speaking parts. I liked that he ended up being a cartoony over the top kind of villain instead of something super edgy and menacing. I mean, he WAS menacing, but it never felt too dark.
Sombras (final) defeat was a definite high for the series! As corny as Discords speech was, it really was sweet! I almost got emotional over it. It really reminded me that after nearly 10 years this is it for this chapter of My Little Pony. ven though I'm ready, its very bittersweet! The animation of Twilight fending off Sombra's attacks was beyond beautiful and it was really rewarding to see the team harness their own energy to bring him down.
I'm not thrilled that we ended with the Princesses still talking about retirement, but there could be some fun in that. I for one, would like to see the mane 6 ALL ascend to princess/alicorn status if they're taking over the throne together. After all, if Hasbro wants to squeak out a few more mane 6 releases before this is all done...it seems like the perfect excuse to put them out one more time. ;)
Now you know what necromancy is. :)
And for the record I'm trying to find a way to say this next part, without coming off as belligerent or combative. So if I did come off that way, I apologize and its totally not my intention in anyway shape or form to do so. ^^;
What I'm trying to say is, a character doesn't need to appear in more then one continuity to be official. That'd be like saying Perfect and Polite Panda doesn't exist or matter just because they're not in the current Care Bear line-up.
Or like Mara Jade is automatically to be disregarded in Star Wars because she was never in any of the movies. Ya know what I mean?
Hopefully those were good examples. Sorry if they weren't. :blush:
I think everyone defines "canon" a little differently. :) For me personally, there are different canons even within on brand or franchise! Taking My Little Pony, for example, there are lots of different canons with in that for me! I see G1, G2, G3, and G4 all as their own separate canons and story lines. Since we're talking about Gusty, I'll build off that. In my eyes she's an official My Little Pony Character, no questions asked! But within canon, I primarily only see her as being in the G1 world. Her being mentioned in Friendship Is Magic ties her into the canon of that world too. However, if we do see her and she has a different color scheme or personality, I may still consider her a totally separate character. As an example, I don't see G1 Moondancer and G4 Moondancer as the same pony. Even though they have the same colors, they exist in different worlds and don't have the same personality.
To dig even deeper into it, I still see different canons within even G4! I don't count the comics as being canon to the show because even though they are taking place within the same world with the same main characters, there are enough differences for me to view it as its own separate entity!
I'm sorry if this is confusing, it's a little hard to explain where my brain is on this! :blush: I just wanted to clarify that I don't think Mewtwofan1 or anyone else who is saying Gusty is "canon" now was trying to imply Gusty isn't official or important as a My Little Pony character, just that she is now a named character within the new generation, which is exciting!
I don't think there's any right or wrong way to view characters and how they fall into a specific canon. Frankly this stuff is super confusing and I can switch back and forth on how I want to define it depending on the work I'm talking about!
Did someone mention that a Season 8 episode had Sombra lurking in the shadows spying on Flurry Heart?
Spoiler
He seemed to know that the Crystal Heart was powered by the Crystal ponies love for Flurry Heart and that the only way to retake the Empire was to endanger Flurry Heart and the royal family. He also knew right where her room was. I thought he was smart to turn the first few Crystal ponies he met into his guards and then take over the Empire.
Ponyfan
Spoiler
That line about the longest time of peace still bothers me especially if last season's finale was really just a few months ago in Equestria. Starlight mentions the school is closed for the summer. I was sure the retirement of the princesses was a trick of Grogar or Chrysalis when the episode started but it seems both princesses came up with the idea on their own. This episode also proves that Cozy isn't Chrysalis.
Sombra was actually very clever with his plan to retake the Crystal Empire. I am still wondering why we didn't see Sunburst in this episode?
Ponyfan
I think my biggest issue with these two episodes was Luna and Celestia suddenly summoning the mane six and being all "Hey there. I think we're gonna retire in a few days so yeah you guys can totally take over. K? Thx." That just seemed so out of character for them to just suddenly spring something like that. It just felt weird (to me).
That's why I thought it was a hoax or that Celestia had been replaced by Chrysalis. It's so out of left field, so weird.
They had an entire episode about how stressful the princess days and nights are. So tailored to them they can't just switch places. And now Twilight is supposed to do both.
I guess Cadance is still there but she is too weak to guard her own child.
Spoiler
Another thing I've been trying to figure out is why Shining Armor stopped Cadance from trying to attack Sombra after he captured Flurry Heart. I assume it's because he didn't want Flurry to be harmed accidently but that made it even easier for Sombra to take over the Empire.
Ponyfan
I think my biggest issue with these two episodes was Luna and Celestia suddenly summoning the mane six and being all "Hey there. I think we're gonna retire in a few days so yeah you guys can totally take over. K? Thx." That just seemed so out of character for them to just suddenly spring something like that. It just felt weird (to me).
That's why I thought it was a hoax or that Celestia had been replaced by Chrysalis. It's so out of left field, so weird.
They had an entire episode about how stressful the princess days and nights are. So tailored to them they can't just switch places. And now Twilight is supposed to do both.
I guess Cadance is still there but she is too weak to guard her own child.
Spoiler
Another thing I've been trying to figure out is why Shining Armor stopped Cadance from trying to attack Sombra after he captured Flurry Heart. I assume it's because he didn't want Flurry to be harmed accidently but that made it even easier for Sombra to take over the Empire.
Ponyfan
That's how I took it as well. But it was all so rushed, I hardly understood what was going on until I watched that scene again.
I think it was lazy not to bring up Flurry's magical powers again. It's like all the ingredients were there to age up Flurry and make it clear she is the new ruler. She was born an alicorn princess, I really thought the writers would jump on that and develop her further. But instead they wrote her out, just like Cadence. Cadence is so useless nowadays and only there to be a mom.
Spoiler
The only other thing I can think of is that the magic Sombra used to hold Flurry stopped her from being able to use her powers but I would have liked Shining Armor or Cadance to at least try to take Flurry away from Sombra.
I'm also still wondering why Sombra ordered the royal family muzzled and chained when they forced to bow before them but as soon as they're in the crystal prison they are no longer chained or muzzled.
Ponyfan