Thread 42492189

So after putting it off for years, I've finally watched all nine seasons.

Didn't really care for the last two.
In fact I would even recommend that those who haven't seen them yet not to bother. They have their moments but ultimately aren't worth investing the time in. The finale's a wet fart, both the actual two-parter and the epilogue.
Now that season 9 is fresh in my mind, the only episode that really stood out to me that I really enjoyed was "Frenemies". I could take or leave all the others.

That being said. Would you recommend skipping seasons 8 and 9 altogether? Or should others have to share in your suffering as I now do? Because this shit is so ass. I wish these seasons were never made.
But the ride never ends. You kind of have to see these episodes to believe them. I'm still glad I watched them, even though they sucked.

I've never watched seasons 8 and 9 but I think golly is cute so I just accept anons headcanon about her as canon.

>>42492189 (OP)
Of course you should watch it, even if just so you have the right to complain about them. And of course most people find a couple of episodes they like like Frenemies and Sounds of Silence. Personally I quite like She Talks to Angel.

>>42492189 (OP)
I liked s8-9 well enough, it was still better than s3-4 at least. There's a lot I'd like to change about the finale of the show, but I can say the same of the premiere of the show as well. It's not perfect but it's still a great cartoon show overall.

i see anons complaining about later seasons all the time
sure they weren't as good overall, but some good late episodes were better than some s1 episodes

>>42492189 (OP)
Gollyfilly is the best thing about the late seasons

>>42492189 (OP)
Cozy deserved better!

>>42492189 (OP)
They have good episodes, like the Kirin one, but that's it. I wouldn't skip them entirely as newfag though. For rewatches though, absolutely.

>>42492584
what the hell happened that they were clearly capable of putting out good episodes like Sounds of Silence, even The Parent Map, but actively chose not to? Was the friendship school some kind of corporate mandate?
Road to Friendship is weirdly good too, Haber can write good episodes (such as RtF) but also chooses not to

>>42492829
The production style of the show where they had contractors write first drafts of random episodes and then the editors come through and finish the scripts meant there was no way for the show to ever be consistent.

>>42492189 (OP)
Frenemies is ruined retroactively. Just try to watch it again knowing their fates. Any good feeling you had on first watch is obliterated.

>>42492849
I already knew what was gonna happen to them.
Plus, everyone knows that a house divided against itself cannot stand. The Legion was doomed from the start because of this.

>>42492829
FaustKeks said Chadber was a bad writer he prove them wrong.
>>42492189 (OP)
>The finale is a wet fart
Season 9 finale has a better rating than best night ever than episode is crap
> The mane 6 are looking forward for the greatest even in all equestria
> Somehow it was better for the mane 6 to have the worst experience of their lives rather than having a good time with other ponies
What did Faust meant by this. Is it really bad to let your characters have a good time once in a while so you can ruin it so they learned a lesson or something?

>>42493034
>BNE is crap
I hate having to share this board with you

>>42493034
The most impressive part of those ratings is that it's still that fucking high despite all the faustfag review bombers giving low scores on principle.

>>42493034
What rancid brownoid language is that?

>>42492189 (OP)
>Would you recommend skipping seasons 8 and 9 altogether?
Nah, the Kirin episode is aces as far as comedy and the song is one of the best, the fact it's just Applejack and Fluttershy without including any of the new dead weight makes it feel more like a season 2 episode.

Beside that there's... uh... I mean frenemies is pretty cool...

>>42492829
>Was the friendship school some kind of corporate mandate?
Shockingly, no! What's worse, Harber was hard pushing the fucking thing so that Glimmer could take over from the Main Six as the defacto main character.

Seriously go through the desuarchive and find the email leaks it's WILD.

Frenemies really has similar trappings and mediocre writing style as the rest of S9. /mlp/ just overlook it because they start thinking with their dicks whenever Cozy appears on-screen.

>>42493308
As with most fandoms, something that has the potential to be good will often get treated as good because fans love to imagine a good version of the story.

>>42493308
details

Even if it doesn't seem significant, what similarities exist between frenemies and other episodes? You can even pick your example. Just pick a stinker, or the comparison won't have any relevance.

>>42493300
A school yes. Creatures no.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PRliouRL2Mk

>>42493347
It has the general unfocused meandering writing. For example, the song sounds nice but does not accomplish anything because after figuring out they need to work together they go back to arguing again, only to arrive back to the same conclusion by the end of the episode. They're walking in circles the entire episode. I don't remember too many details but the dialogue they have with each other is also fairly expected and generic "oh I hate X and Y so much" and "Discord was such a cool guy before he turned good". This isn't exactly terrible but it would've been more interesting if this was an opportunity to learn more about their past and motives. Speaking of motives, Tirek changed motives like 5 times throughout the show and in this episode they emphasized him wanting to get buff as a joke even though that wasn't a thing before and won't be a thing in the finale.

>>42493034
BNE was a big let down. Whoa my expectations were soooo subverted, epic! The m6 were miserable and OOC, fun! At least have the decency to show a short montage of the m6 enjoying the Gala together in their own way as a payoff for forcing us to watch the m6 being utter imbeciles, but the episode just randomly ends all of the sudden after their moaning. I can see what they were going for but the execution was horrible. Why is the ruler of the kingdom a door greeter? Why is Twilight expecting to monopolize Celestia's time even though she already gets to spend a lot time with her as her faithful student. Why is Fluttershy suddenly shit with animals just because she's in a new location when Fluttershy literally gained her cutie mark by interacting with animals for the first time in a new location, so she can tame a manticore but not a basic bird. There's problems everywhere. Rarity was alright though, seeing Blueblood put her in her place was entertaining.

>Would you recommend skipping seasons 8 and 9 altogether?
No, you watch the bad with the good. That way you can bitch about it properly and argue with the Cozy schizo the next time he makes a rant thread.

>>42492829
>Was the friendship school some kind of corporate mandate?
The friendship school was a merch requirement, yes, but the plot was all on Haber and the writers. When the merch people said "put a swan boat in the show," it was put in a montage sequence in a Manehattan episode. It wasn't turned into season long story arc. Hasbro eventually got so sick of it they had him can the student characters so the focus could return to the cash cow M6.

>>42493308
i start thinking with my dick whenever chrysalis appears on-screen, thank you very much

>>42493469
>the dialogue they have with each other is also fairly expected and generic "oh I hate X and Y so much" and "Discord was such a cool guy before he turned good"
Are we talking about an episode or about anons on /mlp/?

>>42492829
>Was the friendship school some kind of corporate mandate?
Yep and McCarthy pushed it with her shitty movie and creatures. Haber was cooking with the arcs he was setting up for everyone before the school upended everything. I just wish he pushed back harder, he's a bit too much of a good soldier which is how he lasted on staff so long, but there's no one else I'd prefer in charge other than Faust. I feel bad for him since he's basically taking the heat for all of Hasbro's terrible decisions. He salvaged what he could though, the final two seasons still has a cult following and has a good ending even if its not what some of us wanted. Reminds me of s1, it could've been so much better if Hasbro didn't cuck Faust's original vision.

>>42492189 (OP)
>. Would you recommend skipping seasons 8 and 9 altogether
no they have to be seen at least once to experience the worse and most boring episodes along with the faces
that said if people skip episodes because they are too boring/dull/bad i wouldn't blsme them

I watched the first 3 seasons as they were coming out but lost interest in mlp when season 4 rolled around and basically dropped out of the fandom entirely. Watched a random fan animation that popped up in my feed recently and it's been kinda fun coming back. Guess I'll have to watch everything I missed out on.

I wish they made Cozy Glow the new rival to the CM. Like had at least one story where they had to stop her from taking over Equestra. The season 8 finale looked like it was gonna do that but then she just locks them in a closet.

>>42495167
The difference between three fairly normal kiddos and one of the show's final bosses. This thing is a goddamn unit.

>>42495167
The show really undervalued the CMC as characters and I hate it.

>>42494666
>has a good ending

>>42493469
You did not answer the question. I do not know, given your response, what this episode has in common with any particular other episode.

You are instead saying negative things about the episode, which could be true, but would not lead to the conclusion that the episode was bad or good. Even if it did, that still wasn't the question.

What is similar, and to what? Pick an example, or else I'll just have to pick lines from another episode which have more than 9 words and call that a counter.

>>42495881
The CMC's and most of their side characters (DT, Silver Spoon, Cheerilee) got swept aside for new additions like Sugar Belle and the Student Six as the show went on.

>>42493469
>Tirek changed motives like 5 times throughout the show
His motives didn't really change that much. He's pretty straight-forward.

>>42495998
It is good and I say that as someone who wants to redeem the trio regardless of whether they deserve it.

>>42497520
Let's go over this again...

>Twilight's Kingdom
Tirek mentions wishing to "control" the three pony races. So ignoring the question of what he's getting out of controlling ponies who are shown as being too weak to stand without magic, assume he just wants to take over the world.
>the end of Twilight's Kingdom
Tirek grows huge and starts rampaging, his original motive seemingly forgotten. Whatever, too much power corrupts and all that (I mean, it's not really an explicit theme in the episode but I'm being generous).
>School Raze
Tirek doesn't express any desire to take over the world or grow more powerful in general. Instead, he seems to want to eat magic because it tastes good and he's addicted to it.
>Frenemies
The aforementioned gag with Tirek trying to get buff, which wasn't a thing before and won't be a thing after this episode.
>the finale
Back to trying to take over the world. Referencing his comic to give him daddy issues at the last moment. The "magic is delicious" thing never comes up once in S9 again.

Tirek was always thought of as a big plot device obstacle to overcome first, and a character second.

>>42496985
Fine, let's compare it to Between Dark and Dawn. Granted, I think Frenemies is a much better episode overall, and Dark and Dawn is one of the worst episodes of the entire series. But there is a similarity in story structure:
>It follows two or more characters who are presented with a friendship issue
>They have a gratutitous song near the end of act 1, where they almost figure out the point of the episode but revert to arguing by the end of the song
>They spend act 2 arguing or drifting apart and generally refusing to work together in repetitive ways
>They make up in the end and arrive to the same conclusion they almost arrived at the beginning (though Frenemies has a good dramatic climax to punctuate this, while Dark and Dawn simply has this happen out of nowhere)

I could name a bunch of other S8-S9 episodes that follow a similar pattern. It doesn't have to be characters arguing, either. It's the basic structure of a character being faced with a basic issue, spending a good chunk of the episode repeatedly failing to solve that issue in one-note ways, and figuring out the solution by the end.
>but isn't this just regular MLP story structure?
No, not necessarily. Let's compare it to Fall Weather Friends from S1. On the surface it's also an episode about characters being consumed by petty rivalry, but it's executed in a much more fun way. There's constantly something happening (the Iron Pony contest - contrast that to how the first act of Frenemies is spent doing fuck all), the dialogue is more witty and less repetitive: there's less focus on boring arguing and more on the character's individualities as they try to one-up each other, so the plot develops more naturally with rising tension rather than "okay this is the part where they're supposed to make up". Granted, Frenemies has some of that too, but it's dragged down by the mandatory need to have characters argue and repeat the same things at each other.
It's a good episode but vastly overrated.

>>42497890
All those fall under the umbrella of "want power, want all magic" which is all he is.
>The aforementioned gag with Tirek trying to get buff
People are allowed to desire more than one single thing. Nothing wrong with it, it supports his ideals of strength and power.

>>42497933
im not seeing the difference between appledash/rarijack arguing and the trio arguing. the rising tension and climax is the same, what is different?
>more witty less repetitive
explain

>>42497949
>the rising tension and climax is the same,
Not really. Frenemies has them all fail, gather and start discussing things, diluting the tension before the climax. In FNF, once the race starts, it doesn't stop until the end of the episode, and the characters' naturally lead into the conclusion.
As for the dialogue, I suppose I just find it underwhelming that the villains only talk about two things: their dislike of each other, and their dislike of the heroes. Like I said, this could've been an opportunity to tell us a little more about them and what they want. I also find the jabs they throw at each other like the snoring and Tirek's gramma generally less fun and charming than the childish jabs RD and AJ exchange, like calling each other petty names or being trigger-happy to accuse each other of cheating. The latter convey characterization, the former feel kind of random and grasping for something to make a joke about, which is a feel I get a fair amount from S8-S9.

>>42492189 (OP)
I take the good with the bad. I liked the Kirins and I’m one of the few who liked the Student Six. Cozy Glow herself is a great character, she was handled like crap.

>>42498010
Nothing about the race was "natural" though. It was just AJ and Dashie continuing their spat all episode while a blob of mares rubberbanded around them randomly. That's arguably less tension than the trio having to do a mission that is a make-or-break for their future prospects.

The trio's dialogue is more meaningful because it was a setup to the finale that showed how friendship was still beyond them. Whether it is more entertaining is subjective, I like both since I simply enjoy cartoon characters bickering and getting into trouble.

>>42498064
>Nothing about the race was "natural" though.
I meant to write "characters' actions naturally lead into the conclusion". They suffer the consequences of their own choices.
>That's arguably less tension than the trio having to do a mission that is a make-or-break for their future prospects.
Yeah, but their desire to win the race is an important part of FNF and is constantly emphasized. Getting the bell is not something the villains are shown to really crave, despite its alleged in-universe importance.

Poor filly.

>>42497890
>Twilight's Kingdom
He wanted to steal magic to become big and powerful.
>the end of Twilight's Kingdom
He became big and powerful, so he was having fun by blowing stuff up before being stopped. He did briefly achieve his goals.
>School Raze
Works with Cozy for a revenge scheme. Probably still wanted to be big and powerful, but was locked up so he probably knew it wasn't possible.
>Frenemies
Wanted magic to be big and powerful, except Discord was forcing him to play nice and work with Cozy and Chrysie.
>the finale
Wanted magic to be big and powerful, except he was doing it with his new teammates.

His goals were always straight forward. He wanted to become big and powerful by getting magic. He could use diplomacy or sneaky tactics or be smart about it to achieve that goal, but it was always his end goal. Except for School Raze, where he had no means to achieve that goal, so he went for revenge.

Cozy Glow is the key to all of this

I really don’t get how you guys bear the start of S8.
The only good thing about S8 E1 is neighsayer shutting Twilight’s dysfunctional mess of a school down and telling the creatures to fuck off (which they try to frame as le evil despite those same creatures causing property damage and having the potential to threaten Equestria’s state security)

>>42499083
>>42495167
Cozy should have have been introduced back in season 6, replacing Diamond and Silver (whom both should have not been dumped in the background) as the new bully to CMC.

>>42499100
Name one MLP character who has never caused property damage.

>>42495881
This is unfortunately true, but they still had a lot of cute episodes that I like.

>>42498752
But what is he going to do once he becomes big and powerful? Kill the whole world and then himself?

>>42499540
I don't know. Enjoy the power. Have you ever considered that he doesn't have much planned passed the victory? He just wants power through magic. That's all.

>>42500359
You're one of the late season writers, aren't you?

>>42500363
No, sadly. It is simply consistent with his character since his first appearance. He wanted magic there to get big and strong. That is all.