Season 6 FINALE - To Where and Back Again

I watched it when it was leaked a while ago, so I'm a bit fuzzy on what my exact reaction was, but I think it was pretty nice change for the main cast to be in need of rescuing.
Can't wait to see the ramifications of Chrysalis surviving in the next season.

 

Well... you should all know what to expect from me at this point. In other words, don't be surprised at what's below here. So, it's going to be in spoilers for 'those' kinds of people so they can just ignore it.

Spoiler

To be completely honest... I'm not sure what I can say here.

Starlight doesn't want to be in charge again huh? Well... MAYBE THAT'S BECAUSE SHE DOESN'T DESERVE TO. JUST LIKE SHE DOESN'T DESERVE ALL THIS CRAP THAT'S BEEN GIVEN TO HER ON A SILVER PLATTER. Why does that seem familiar? Seth Rollins? Kevin Owens? No? Just me? Whatever.

I liked the Derpy part though.

Plus I liked Luna being in this even though she was being too nice to Starlight.

So... why is this show expecting me to like Trixie? Because that's NEVER going to happen. I'm sorry it's just not. Trixie is an egotistical self righteous *squee!* who clearly goes out of her way to get on Twilight's nerve's. That's not 'funny.' That's idiotic and proves she doesn't learn ANYTHING.

Oh good. We're going to throw Discord into this too. Because... you know... that'll totally make me like this episode more.

I love how he continues to prove how much of a jerk he is. He only cares about Fluttershy and no one else. OH WAIT. NO I DON'T. I DON'T LIKE THIS AT ALL.

I'm actually okay with Thorax though. Still... I really don't understand this. I would have enjoyed this episode a whole lot more if the team was the Slice of Life characters. Seriously. I would have. How come they couldn't have done them instead?

I will admit a few things however.

First off, Chrysalis' plan was actually pretty decent and well thought out. Practically all the ponies were out of commission. So, instead, we have to rely on a bunch of NOT REDEEMED side characters (sans one) to save us.

I will admit though, I like them trying to have 'side characters' having to rescue the Mane 6 from the evil. I just wish it would have been other characters.

However, I liked the Discord and Trixie bickering. That was quite funny and good.

So now we move on to the actual rescue mission. Which, I'll once again admit, had it's moments. Trixie's illusions actually being good and useful?! Discord doing ridiculous bad comedy that works as a distraction?! It was all shocking, ridiculous, and great all at the same time.

To be even more honest though, and I REALLY hate to admit this, but despite Starlight not wanting to be in charge of something, the plans she came up with were actually pretty decent and well thought out. Especially at the end.

Now of course... the moment of truth. Thorax being the key wasn't really all that surprising honestly. Then that transformation... WHAT?! I mean... at least there were other Changelings that seemed to realize how much of a crazy tyrant Chrysalis was... but seriously... what the hell was that supposed to be?! A deer? A deer bug?! Not that I'm saying it was ugly or anything. It was just... kind of... weird...

Honestly... I kind of see what other people were saying about these 'new' Changelings not catching on. Because I don't think they will. It's possible they might if we see more of them, but, I suppose it will depend on the person in question.

However... THANK GOD CHRYSALIS WASN'T REDEEMED OR REFORMED AT THE END. SERIOUSLY. I AM SO FREAKING SICK AND TIRED OF THIS REDEEMED/REFORMED CRAP. If that would have happened... I don't think I would have been able to take this crap anymore. I probably would have left the fandom. THANK GOD FOR NO CRYSALIS REDEEMPTION.

So... overall?

I'd say... it's about the same as the S6 premier was. However... it was probably better than the premier.

So... in summary...

It wasn't 'great' but it wasn't 'awful' either.

I'm sorry. Really I am. But I'm just NEVER going to like Discord and Trixie and I could care less about Starlight. This will likely never change either. EVER.

My main issue was the characters and the team. That's basically my issue with it. But it's a legitimate issue. To me anyway.

So... overall... I'd say...

S6 was 'average.' It had it's moments and a few decent episodes but that's about it really.

I guess I should just be glad that something else didn't happen that would be my 'last straw' to make me leave the fandom. Which I am.

Here's hoping S7 is better.

Controversy abound as always,

LostSanity

 

Even though I've seen this episode a week ago, decided to watch it again. This was an awesome episode, felt good to see more of the secondary characters working together. Loved the new changlings' design, it's so pretty. Hope to see more Queen Chrysalis in season seven. Overall I give this one a 10/10.

Also, now that the changlings are good, does that mean they can still change into other ponies?

 

I watched it when it leaked, which I guess is a good thing.
Now that I've had time to get used to the Changeling redesign, I kind of like it.
It makes sense. Before, they were incomplete and broken. Now that they've learned to share love instead of stealing it, they metamorphosed into something new and, by Equestrian standards, beautiful.

 

2/10.

*Cracks knuckles*

Well. With a rating that low, let's get what I liked out of the way.

The idea of Starlight Glimmer taking charge despite her self-doubt, and tackling the problem without the handiness of her magic.

Discord providing some much-needed humor, particularly with his interactions with Trixie.

Although late: Chrysalis displaying what the changelings are really capable of (for the most part), as opposed to the not as great showing (partly in retrospect) that we got the first time around.

I don't know if anyone else thought of this, but the whole infiltrating the hive thing, with it changing around and the party being whittled down, reminds me of Krull (which also had changelings, and -- in a way -- "sharing" "love" to defeat the big bad). It's a nice -- possibly imaginary or coincidental -- reference; to me, at least.

The whole rescuing the important/strong characters with arguably lower-tiered (in some cases, at least) characters, although I probably would have enjoyed other characters even more.

Trixie being an obviously-flawed yet workable character.

Discord really getting to display his feelings for Fluttershy, even though it didn't require this kind of situation.

Now, unfortunately, a lot of that is either undercut or voided by various things. Starting with...

Starlight Glimmer's self-doubt about being in a leadership position. This is undercut by her blatant willingness to take charge of things in Every Little Thing She Does without thinking once about it, using a method that went beyond what she had done while running that town. While I could see her self-doubt coming from that experience, I didn't get the impression that was the case. This self-doubt just seems to crop up out of nowhere, as far as I can tell.

While it was nice to have Starlight Glimmer solve the problem without using her strongest character trait (that being her magic), it's basically a regurgitation of Twilight Sparkle's challenge against Starlight Glimmer in the last finale, where she couldn't resolve the situation with magic. (All these parallels with Twilight Sparkle, in my opinion, does her character more harm than good.)

Discord's participation is just too convenient. Of all the times to make an appearance, when he typically stays out of the picture, there he is, like the handy fourth wall-breaking tool he is. And while -- like I said -- he is a key component to the entertainment value of this finale, all he really was was a means of getting the party to the hive ASAP, rather than the party following Thorax's directions. It simply wasn't necessary, since Starlight Glimmer probably could have teleported them in the desired direction and got there a minute or two later than Discord.

Chrysalis' plan is indicative of a major logical flaw. Even without the knowledge that changelings can assume the form of inanimate objects, it's obvious how dangerous they are with just their first showing. Their ability to perform covert operations, to observe and learn one's habits, daily routines, secrets and the like, and then using that information and the element of surprise at a time and place/battlefield of their choosing, should make it evident how much of a threat they are. Yet, when expelled from Canterlot, they're not pursued, captured, or searched for, nor is there any evidence that anyone is worried about them anywhere (except long after the fact, from ponies who weren't even around at the time, and only after encountering one that isn't trying as hard to hide as the others). All this does is make Celestia (and probably some other characters, by extension or on their own) look really stupid and incompetent.

And that raises the issue of whether a search for the changelings would have been successful, whether or not an initial pursuit and capture attempt happened but failed. Would it have succeeded? I'm willing to answer that simply: yes. See, that convenient "ancient dark stone" that soaks up "anything that isn't changeling magic" means two things: Celestia can't move the sun, and Luna can't enter dreams. Which, in turn, means: it was either late evening or early morning where the hive was (since there was some sunlight there, as opposed to it being nighttime in Ponyville), and Luna was either in the process of being captured or already on her way to the hive (her struggling could mean either). Considering the change in what might be a neighboring time zone, and Luna being at the hive by the time the rescue party reaches the throne room, this means that the hive is pretty close to Canterlot, likely in the evening time direction. And with the hive sticking out like a sore thumb on steroids? And how many time zones Equestria likely covers, and the number of able-bodied pegasi available, whether they utilize an efficient search pattern or not? Yeah, this is clearly the work of paid professionals. (As an aside: I think the hive being a tower is a shallow reflection of the changeling race. All it does is take into account Chrysalis' ego, rather than the fundamentals of how their race makes a living, which Chrysalis herself follows -- with this one exception. You'd think the show would have a better grasp of its own creations.)

One more connected issue with Chrysalis' plan was the nonsensical (but convenient, of course) disregard for Starlight Glimmer. "I didn't think that the student of the mentor mattered," which is coming from someone who has experience with a student of a defeated mentor who was the catalyst that started the unraveling of her first conquest. She can put so much time, effort and thought into having Equestria practically within her grasp for a second time, which is a clear sign that arrogance wasn't a major driving force behind her calculated decisions, yet replacing one more pony closely associated with her prime targets (like Spike) wasn't worth it? I'm totally not buying it.

As far as the seed that was planted in The Times They Are a Changeling, which sprouted here: I'm really disappointed that they followed through with it. I'm not against the metamorphosis of the changelings, or their "reformation," but this was really shoddy work. You can't (well, to be more accurate, shouldn't) portray Thorax and the other changelings as being fundamentally (from birth) different from each other in nature, not ever show the changelings in general disliking Chrysalis' rule, and/or never show her mistreatment of them, and then have them turn on her like that. What am I supposed to get out of it? Did the changelings think, "Oh, look, he became pretty, so I want to become pretty too!" Or, "Oh, cool, a pink ki blast! Sign me up!" And the fact that the race could "share the love" the entire time, yet never knew that they could go from suck to blow, is staggeringly unbelievable. Without being able to share among themselves, do you realize how complicated that would make getting every single changeling fed without their activities being noticed? That's just beyond mere inconvenience, and I doubt that Chrysalis would have anything worth gaining from suppressing such an ability if she knew about it. So, yeah, we have a revolt that's based on nothing other than the speculation that said revolt generates, which happens when the changelings are victorious and there's no sufficient threat that could change that, and the metamorphosis is achieved with an ability that was already possessed, rather than the metamorphosis being achieved with the proper mindset/mental growth, with said metamorphosis granting them the ability to share love. It's just a bloody mess...

Now, finally, is Chrysalis herself. I was open to a reformation, annihilation, or her getting another crack at being the villain. I was hoping for reformation more than the other two things (not under these circumstances, though), so we'd finally get a non-one-dimensional villain that we can sympathize with (i.e. her actions were done out of necessity, perhaps engendered by doubts and/or past experiences that put negotiations for food off of the table), but alas. I've tried to rationalize what depths could exist within someone who puts their rulership, pride, and revenge before the well-being of their subjects/children, but I can't get past the surface. Rather than breaking the mold, she's just another petty/simple villain. Of all the villains so far, she had the most potential to pull at our heartstrings and teach a valuable lesson (whether she died in the process or not), to show that not all perceived villains do what they do because they're truly evil, and/or do whatever it is for stupid/trivial reasons...

*Releases a long, tired sigh*

C'est la vie, I guess.

 

Huh. Well, I guess it's a pity that the paid professional writers don't have have you there to help them out.

 

Very different from how I thought it would turn out, but also very good. Even though I would've loved to have seen some action, that was more than made up for with how well all the characters worked together despite the limitation on their powers and how well they played off each other for some great jokes. And of course, the most original comment of praise I could possibly give it, keeping Chrysalis evil. While I would've gotten over it pretty shortly (with a remark of "Might as well reform Tirek now."), it's still deserving of kudos.

So yeah, Season 7. Oh mah god hype.

 

Huh. The ol' putting-the-words-in-someone's-mouth routine. Looks like I made a new friend.

 

I really enjoyed it! It was some good fun.
I thought the story was pretty good and well paced and entertaining. It was cool that it focused on other characters than the mane six to save the day, and bringing back Chrysallis was pretty cool too.
Overall the only downside for me is that there won't be another new episode next week ><

 

Nah, it's just that a lot of your complaints seem to come down to "the writers aren't up to my standards."

 

Not when she doesn't deserve ANYTHING that's been given to her.

 

That is your opinion, not a fact.

Please acquire a dictionary at your earliest convenience and learn the difference.

 

Jesus Christ, LostSanity. You just made probably the most calm and rational person on this site lose his temper.

Way to *squee!*ing go, man.