Thrond

Honestly that's kinda what I liked about it. I dislike "Princess Twilight" because it's way overstuffed, but "The Crystalling" is low-key and personal. It's about nothing more than Shining and Cadance dealing with becoming new parents, alongside the Starlight/Sunburst stuff. Flurry Heart is cute and funny but she also represents how stressful I imagine parenthood can be. I think people exaggerate how much seasons have overarching plots.

Well, as an episode, Crystalling is an enjoyable episode, just like the rest of season 6, but as a season premiere, it should be, you know, intriguing? Season premiere is just like a "hook", to catch your interest, make you wonder what will happen next. After season 4, overarching plots are expected, heck, even some people said S6 lacks sense of direction. S4 finale and S5 premiere set the standard of the show really high and high expectations are inevitable.

Well, my tastes clearly differ, as I found seasons 4 and especially 5 to be more lacking in direction in spite of their half-baked "story arcs." The season 2 premiere is the only other one which doesn't set anything up at all, but the lack of any pretense towards having a "major plot" actually kinda refreshing, and for me the only thing the premieres really ought to do is entertain, as this show has never really had a continuous story drawing viewers along. And, y'know...