doomie-22

I've had a long while to come to terms with this fact. She didn't play a role in becoming princess? She solved an ancient spell that Starswirl himself couldn't solve — she created new magic. And it was clear since "Cutie Mark Chronicles" that Twilight revers Celestia like a goddess. Again, it was Celestia who inspired Twilight to pursue an interest in magic. It was Celestia who Twilight was always striving to be. Of course she wouldn't mind becoming a princess and taking over for Celestia. Since "Lesson Zero", Twilight has had a bad habit of freaking out over the stupidest things. They finally did away with this in episodes like "It's About Time" and "Games Ponies Play." Then, for some asinine reason, they brought it back in "A Trivial Pursuit", all for the sake of some cheap laughs, completely disregarding the fact of how out of character this made Twilight. Then, in "The Summer Sun Setback" they literally throw away any kind of character development she could've gotten with this line: "I know how I used to react, but I really have changed. Panicking won't solve anything. But we can handle whatever problems come our way as long as we handle them together!"

That's nothing new. That's been a peoblwm with not just her, but the entire main cast, throughout the entire show.

What do you mean she has no friends outside of her Ponyville friends? She has plentt of friends: Cadence, Shining Armor, Flurry Heart, the Student Six, Starlight Glimmer, Trixie, Sunburst, Maud, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Moondancer, Twinkleshine, Lemon Heart, Minuette, Lyra Heartstrings, etc. What do you mean "if she wanted this?" She clearly did. Again, where is this "she didn't get to choose" nonsense coming from? She had a choice in the matter. At any time she could've told Celestia, "I don't want to be a princess" and Celestia would've removed her wings and that would've been the end of it. The fact that she didn't tells me that she wanted this, that her becoming princes and eventually ruler of Equestria is just progressing her character. Also, nowhere in this finale was it even hinted at the idea that Twilight is immortal. True, but it at least had a decent payoff in the end. I could understand what the wrirers were going for, but it still was a stupid decision. Yes, I just absolutely despised the first two seasons. Seasons 4, 5, 7, and 9 are the show's best seasons, though. Even seasons 6 and 8, as lackluster as they were, had some great episodes. My only problem with "Sounds of Silence" was Fluttershy's stupidity and my problem with "The Summer Sun Setback" was the half-assed way they just did away with Twilight's character development. Hence, my major issue with this spisode and why I didn't like it. The people I saw hating on it were people who stopped watching the show years ago and saw the episode as a personal attack on them for daring to criticize the show.

The only crime committed by "Newborn Cuties" was being overly cutesy and saccharine. At least it didn't show a child being turned to stone or a supposedly reformed villain getting away with endangering innocent lives by helping three known criminals escape, giving them access to a superweapon, and allowing them to run ranpant, thus only endangering even more innocent lives and leading to a war breaking out. Seriously, if anyone deserved to be turned to stone in this finale, it was Discord. No. The finale strongly implies that they have all drifted apart and moved on with their lives. They only meet up once a moon. It doesn't help that the finale strongly implies that Twilight and Spike will be subjected to having to watch all of their friends slowly one by one in only a few short years due to all of them dying of old age while they're forced to go on living. This in spite of the fact that we were promised that Twilight would not outlive her friends. They stopped caring about this show years ago. And if they truly cared about the quality of the show, they never would have hired writers who A) had never seen the show knew nothing about the show due to having never watched it and C) primarily came from a background of working on live-action TV shows and thus, had absolutely no experience working on an animated TV show due to having never worked on one before. No, that's not what happened. Faust didn't put up with any of Hasbro's crap. She was very vocal about her disdain for Equestria Girls and this was the final straw for her, so she left. Hasbro needed a yes-man, so they gave Meghan McCarthy a promotion because they knew that she'd go along with whatever they wanted. The fact that they began work on Equestria Girls, as well as implementing a huge amount of changes to the show that nobody ever asked for (and believe me, I could write an entire essay on all of that) is telling. I mean, for crying out loud, this is the same company that canceled Littlest Pet Shop due to low toy sales despite the fact that it was getting great ratings, (thanks in no small part due to the fact that it was produced by the same people who made MLP:FiM) only to reboot it a couple of years later. And, no, I have still not forgiven them for that! No. What they did was they took a great series and pissed all over it. Season 4-9 can basically be described as "fan service gone wrong." Yeah, up until they all left and they brought in the writers that would go on to write the crappiness that was season 8 and 9. I could name several episodes that had no moral. What in the hell does LGBT representation have to do with this? There really wasn't any hints that they were a couple in the episode. The last shiw that should be incorporating political crap like that into its show is My Little Pony. This was done purely for fanservice. It doesn't help that they completely redesigned the characters. This is in spite of the fact that we never see any hints of them being romantically involved. They literally threw this scene in "The Big Mac Question" and "The Last Problem" purely for fanservice. This is why so many people had an issue with the School of Friendship idea. I honestly have no clue as to what the hell you're talking about here. What "repulsive stereotype" did I attach to what "ideology?" Personally, I hated almost all of those episodes. "Sounds of Silence" would've been great had they not had Fluttershy acting so stupid. Her solution is literally the thing that the Kirin were already doing, thus it wouldn't have changed anything at all. "Sparkle's Seven" was bad due to literally over half the episode being nothing but exposition. And episodes like "Horse Play" and "Between Dark and Dawn" were bad due to ruining the character of Celestia and Luna. Episodes like "Slice if Life" and "The perfect Pear" were bad due to both of them being nothing but fanservice. "Pinkie Pride" was bad due to it being unmemorable and using the "guest star" gimmick that other shows like SpongeBob SquarePants have run into the ground..honestly, the only good episodes you listed were "Saddle Row Review", "Crusaders of the Lost Mark", and "Flight to the Finish." I never said there was. I liked maybe eleven episodes from season one and six episodes from season two. Oh, yeah, showing a child getting permanently turned to stone and having a supposedly good guy help criminals start a war and not getting punished for it are really top-notch quality wriitng. Seriously, none of the shows you listed have even come close to stopping that low. It's insulting that people are praising this finale. This is why some people refer to some of the fans that make up this fandom as being in a cult. It didn't used to be like that. It used to be where if you disliked an episode, you could openly discuss why you didn't like it. Nowadays, if you so much as dare speak ill of a new episode, you're treated like a leper. No, it didn't. Season 7 was a marked improvement over season 6, but seasons 8 and 9 are utter garbage, particularly for making everything that happened after season 4 completely and utterly pointless. The problem with "Amending Fences" is that it makes Twilight out to be the bad guy. Twilight realizes it was her turning down going to the party that caused Moondancer to clam up. For me, that's a problem because 1) Twilight was doing something more important — she went on to stop Nightmare Moon and 2) the episode (in Twilight and Moondancer's reactions) put all the blame for Moondancer shutting down on Twilight. This isn't helped by the fact that Twilight, in all the flashbacks with Moondancer as foals, is never shown as being like her friend, just her classmate. Apart from that one photograph Spike took, Twilight is never shown spending time (or wanting to spend time) with Moondancer outside of class. In these scenes and episode 1, in which Moondancer doesn't even appear (don't worry, we'll get back to that), Twilight behaves like an acquaintance and not a friend, and her not even being able to remember her supposed "friends'" names says volumes. In other words, the episode makes it seem as though introversion and preferring other hobbies/pursuits to making friends is always wrong, as there will always be that one person who takes it personally and makes their feelings your responsibility even if you were always civil to them (as Twilight was) and never did anything to give them the false idea that you were interested in friendship. Saying Twilight had a reputation as a bad friend feels unearned — a bad friend would be someone who pretended like they were someone's friend and agreed to go to [insert social event here], only to blow it off. Twilight didn't do that. To make matters worse, this party that was a big deal to Moondancer, that she herself threw? She didn't invite Twilight to it personally. All the other ponies did, which made it seem more like the invite was given in passing, rather than how the episode played it (that Moondancer really wanted Twilight in particular to show up). Not to mention, Moondancer had three other attendees all quite willing to be her friend! For her meltdown to be sympathetic I really needed more in the episode between her and Twilight, such as Moondancer having a secret crush on Twilight which would make her breakdown all the more sensible, because as it is, it resembles Starlight Glimmer syndrome in terms of reactions/character writing. The intended aesop is obviously well-intentioned: be considerate of other's feelings, even if it's something you think is no big deal yourself, but it's done to the extent that the series is implying you have to take total responsibility for other's feelings even at the cost of your own personal preferences (lone wolf Twilight, if they'd let her stay that way, obviously preferred her own space and books over a lot of studying, which I think is totally fine in moderation and is something the show has tried to represent before in "A Friend Indeed"). Introverts are often made the bad guy in shows like this, or have to change fundamentally, and this was just another example of it in how Twilight's old self is treated. The sole saving grace for me was the other ponies reacting more appropriately to Twilight's apology, and the great character animation in Twilight's expressions that show how much her confidence has grown. The bad thing about "The Times They are a Changeling" is the fact that it completely rewrote its own lore just to make this plot work. "Parental Glideance" was an abysmal episode. Like "Amending Fences" it paints the main character as the bad guy and tries to make the audience feel sympathetic towards Bow Hothoof and Windy Whistles. This is in spite of the fact that these two snuck onto a military base without permission, constantly disrupted the Wonderbolts while they were trying to perform, including shooting off fireworks where there was a serious threat of them getting seriously hurt, including their own daughter, and attendees going deaf due to being in close proximity to the fireworks going off, among other things. The episode makes them.come off as extremely childish and immature for their age and then wants to paint Rainbow dash as being in the wrong when she very rightfully tells them to knock it off. Yes, she could've done this in a more respectful manner, but I can't blame her for losing her temper at them. It doesn't help that the writers were given a golden opportunity to resolve this conflict at the end, which they didn't go for. So, yeah, i do not like Bow Hothoof or Windy Whistles at all. Not helping this episode is that it implies that Scootaloo has never had anyone to cheer her on and tell her that she's good at anything, which seems to be contradicted by "The Last Crusade." The only good thing that I can say about this episode was that it at least painted the Wonderbolts in a positive light for once. Really? Because most people I know loved that episode and consider it to be one of the season's best episodes. Seriously? I didn't much care for it much myself, but I didn't hate it. No, it really wasn't. Okay, whatever you say. How can anyone not understand it? It's basically saying that everything that happened before hand was completely and utterly pointless and it's strongly implied Twilight will outlive her friends. Funny how I didn't do that. I have watched the show with a clear, open mind, several times in fact. And I didn't stereotype anybody.

This finale is basically every single season finale (and movie) from "Magical Mystery Cure" onwards combined, plus "Slice of Life" sprinkled on top. The writers in their infinite wisdom retconed their entire ninth season IN THE SAME SEASON at the end for the sake of a "gotcha!"? Seems like the writers took a lesson straight out of the quality of writing from the modern Star Wars films and went on the subverting expectations path with no payoff. So much build-up wasted! I mean, I knew that they'd fuck it up, but they exceeded my expectations. This finale pretty much made this whole season completely and utterly pointless in the end. The writers really fucked up with this one. I can at least take comfort in knowing that fanfic writers will do a better job. So, it turns out that Grogar was just Discord all along. Apparently, he got bored and tried to reform them all by himself. It failed. I get the impression the Princesses were not in on the joke. Good lord . . . How?! Did they just throw this thing together while they were collectively drunk and not bother to edit it at all?! Discord the 'conspirator'. . . my god, I honestly don't know what to say. I don't even know where to begin. This finale was so bad it has a numbing effect.. . . just . . . that would never have worked! He's not that stupid. He'd have known it would fail. Anyone with a fragment of a brain would know it would fail! It's why I said from basically the very beginning of the season that if this was some idiotic ploy to try to reform the villains, it's the dumbest idea anyone could possibly come up with! The remaining villains all get turned to stone, at Discord's apparent suggestion, which completely contradicts what he said the first time we met him. He said quite clearly, "It's quite lonely being encased in stone. But you wouldn't know that, would you, because I don't turn ponies into stone." I mean, I don't care about Cozy Glow. Others seem pissed, but to me she was never even a character. She's just a tool thrown around by hack writers. They could have had her trampled to a bloody pulp by a mad elephant, screaming in agony until it crushed her head, and I'd have shrugged and said, "Good riddance to bad writing." But the other two villains deserved something more interesting than . . . that! You know what I'm still awestruck about? That the writers somehow managed to make a generic rushed villain redemption feel like the better option than the punishment. But more to the point, has anyone else realized just how evil this finale makes Discord? Instead of doing what the ponies did for him and trying to reform them, he goads the villains on, forces them to take part in his plans, gives them access to a powerful magical item . . . and doesn't even bother watching them. The writers seem to have completely forgotten that he can make little copies of himself to send anywhere he wants, and what was he planning to do if they did get the bell? Then, let's not forget literally raises a dead dark magic user (so he's actually Pony God now . . .), and then gleefully watches them all be turned to stone, which, as I said earlier, is what he derided Celestia about in the first place!! This is the absolute worst thing they could do! If this finale did anything right it was convincing me that Discord has and always will be an asshole! If anyone deserved to get turned to stone, it was this fucking piece of shit asshole!

Well, here it is. The big finale shitshow, possibly the worst thing to come out of this entire horse franchise this side of "Newborn Cuties." So, let me get this straight. They just time skip, what, 60 years? Everypony we know and love is getting old and dying, except Twilight, who becomes a big alicorn, and Spike, who becomes a buff anthro dragon. The best part about the entire thing is they give the Mane Six (except for Twilight) these single stroke lines under their eyes for eyebags and rougher, uglier manes to show that they got older, but characters like Twilight Velvet or Mayor Mare all literally look the same as before. Apparently Celestia and Luna fucked off as planned, so Twilight's stuck running the country with Spike as her assistant for the foreseeable future. She gets to be all alone with no close friends or family (except Spike), just like Celestia was for 1000 years. Happy ending! That's just terrible. Twilight's student Luster Dawn specifically wonders why making friends is important if friends will inevitably drift apart, and Twilight assures her that her friends have stayed with her this whole time, even when their lives are in faraway cities. Yet . . . what happens when Twilight is asked the same thing 100 years later? Have fun sleeping tonight. With that disturbing thought bobbing around in my head all night, I am amazed I got to sleep that night. Regardless of what side of the fence you were on when "Magical Mystery Cure" aired, the vast majority of the fandom agreed that Twilight Sparkle becoming immortal should not be allowed to happen. It got to the point that Meghan Mccarthy had to go on record declaring that Twilight was not immortal. I don't mind the idea that Twilight would outlive her friends, but more for the fact that this episode is basically the writers going back on their word at the worst possible time. it contradicts what the wrtiters had promised us, that being that Twilight would not outlive her friends. I remember them saying this and I felt good about it. It let me accept Alicorn Twilight. But of course they lied. Either they forgot about their promise, or they didn't care. Or more likely Meghan McCarthy forgot she even said this to begin with. And if there are any hardliners out there with the audacity to defend this by saying they were fickle enough to simply "change their minds", it would have been wiser if the showrunners remained silent on the issue to keep the situation ambiguous. Better to stay silent than to make promises you cannot keep. I mean, be honest: did anyone want to see their heroes old and looking like they're on their way to their deathbed as the series finale?Seriously, the only shows I've ever seen pull that off were ones that did it as a joke. A thing to appreciate is ending on a book closing (a reference to the very first episode). That is literally the only nice thing I can say about this episode. The more I've thought about this episode, the worse it has become. This episode is an abomination and cements so many things that so many fans, detractors, and hardliners alike did not want to see happen. Its story amounts to future Twilight telling her student about her coronation disaster (think a watered down "Best Night Ever", without the good pacing or humor.) It ends with the student learning all about friendship, with a lulling song that tries to evoke emotion, but does not. For as awful as "Magical Mystery Cure" was, it at least evokes feelings. "The Last Problem" only evokes bleh, and that's the perfect way to describe this episode: it Just feels like one big bleh. There's so much superficiality in this episode, which seems to be an overarching problem with this series finale. it doesn't help that this episode really drags its feet. You could honestly just maybe have the last song on its own and not even have a time skip at all without all the imagery, nor this new student. Why not make the two-parter a three parter with the final segment after a commercial break be this epilogue segment with the coronation and subsequent song? Worst yet, the very sight of the last shot of the episode with the Mane Six with Twilight now an unaging immortal princess made me the most upset I had ever been with anything in the show. I don't know. This is just so over-the-top dreadful. All the bad fanfic ideas, the lazy way it's all thrown together. . . . It's beyond lazy. I find it truly ironic that this was meant to be a "tie up" but all it does is raise more questions than answers, and some questions the fandom has wanted answered for years like, "What happened to Spike's parents?" The finale itaelf also brings up several questions. For example, the presentation of them accepting they'll have to go their separate ways. First of all, didn't we already do this in the Season 4 premiere? Rememeber then they went ahead and just made her stay in Ponyville? Second of all, didn't we touch on this a bit with Rainbow Dash and Rarity getting their goals more realized in season six and they showed it didn't affect them much before? At least here they actually show results of that. Kinda lessens the impact of this. Also, we're honestly just expected to accept this premise of Twilight going through with being ruler? Really? Celestia and Luna, both who are probably over 1,000 years old themselves, are just literally retiring? And I do mean that since Celestia says, "Visit us at Silver Shoals." Like, are they also just not gonna bother with the sun and moon anymore given that amulet given to Twilight before? They don't need to be rulers to still do that? They'll put a child in stone, but can't even do something like "It's time for Luna and I to move on"? And yes, I'm aware that was one of the ideas for the season. Another thing that really pisses me off is the fact that Jim Miller said in a Q&A that what things have happened were mostly "left ambiguous" or "up to interpretation." This makes the whole thing feel like another, "Eh, we'll let the fans write the story in their heads!" But all I think it ended up doing was pissing off fans like me because it's such a jarring change and the implications run high. I mean, the immortality factor already runs high, and that's just with Twilight. It doesn't help that this finale strongly implies that what happened with certain characters just get left to rot away. So many important characters who've been with the show for so long got nothing. Zecora is, by far, the biggest wasted character of them all. She had a whole land and heritage worth of story to explore and nothing was done with it at all. What about poor Spike or, as long as we're talking about important characters, I guess I might as well ask what about Cadence now? Hell, throw Smolder in there too. Why does Spike look older than Smolder now? Did they really just give Ocellus a larger neck? Speaking of the Student Six, only Gallus gets a speaking role in the final episode. Really feels like they were tacked on as a whole and as a result, this makes all of this feel like a lot of it was just to add fanfic fuel but they ended up pouring it on the dumpster fire of the show itself. The creators of generation four of this franchise have taken a big, smelly amoebic dysentery diarrhea all over the series with this finale, and I now can look upon them only with disgust because they're now poisoned by being tied to this piece of shit that was the last season. All we got were irrelevant episodes that didn’t involve the villains, most of the episodes had basic plots, the series ends with a horde of unanswered questions, and a very disappointing finale, possibly even worse than 2015 "Transformers Robots in Disguise’s" finale. I think the ultimate question is, "Is this episode bad on its own merits, or is it bad because of everything else going in?" Feels hard to answer that because you can't really take this episode on its own because it's the final one meant to be the conclusion to all their efforts. It's not just the end of the three-parter, but the end of FiM. And all the things they didn't address or think through just taint it to many people. This entire episode is woefully disrespectful to the countless fans that allowed it to get as far as it did. This final episode is basically an amalgamation of all the shoddy decisions they've made and now they had to include them to come to a forced happy ending of sorts. If I hadn't seen what a shitshow the last season of Game of Thrones was, I'd be certain this ending was a fake. The more I watch this, the more this looks like a deliberately bad ending, written by someone who actively hates the show. It’s like the crew just wanted to get the show over and done with so they can quit Hasbro and forget about it; however, that will someday come back to bite them. Watching this, a part of me wants to cry, and not for a good reason. I have never felt more upset with something in MLP FiM than this. Jeez, and I thought the finales for The Amazing World of Gumball and Star vs the Forces of Evil were bad. Honestly, this ending was so bad that I would've preferred a meta ending with them all tossing out their scripts in relief that it's finally over. That would certainly be much more welcome. But, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. It's fitting that a terrible series with notoriously terrible writing gets a terribly written ending. I am DONE with this show. It failed the most basic principles of writing and world-building in the last three seasons. This finale has effectively killed any remaining interest I had in this show or its fandom. I am never going to watch this god-awful show ever again! The one good thing that I will say has come out of this series finale is the very vocal and angry pushback the show received once it was leaked. So many loyal fans woke up to the sorry state the show was in and made it very clear everywhere they could. The effects were immediate, a fandom revolt happened almost overnight, and even the most vocal and stalwart hardline fans that remained loyal to the show went silent with their arguments from as recently as six months ago no longer holding as much water. Truly, I am proud of this fandom for finally establishing some standards. A reevaluation of the series will likely happen in the near future, which I am looking forward to seeing. And to the writers of the later seasons, thanks for squandering my interest. You actually had a chance to make money and make a great show at the same time, but instead you double dipped both on money and community headcanons to the point where that's really all the later seasons of the show was all about, headcanon services to satisfy the hungry crowds willing to eat that shit up. And, sure, this whole dumpster fire of a finale is bittersweet, but if anything, i can say at least it helped reinforce the earlier seasons and episodes as they still stand about how they once cared and had strong internal consistency and didn't rely on the community. They had an idea and made a show out of it. At least they did add morals in the later seasons, but even those were too forced or created issues. What they really should have focused on was writing good stories with complex characters. That's what Faust did and that's what made the show great, and things went downhill when they booted her and her insistence on quality from the show. Most of us can tell everyone who cared about the show's quality are gone. The point is that everyone who originally worked on the show has long left, and even those who took their place have left too, and so this show hasn't just distanced itself from what it originally was meant to be, but also from the stupid parody of itself that we used to criticize years and years ago. It's not even consistent with its own inconsistency! And while I'm on the subject of show staff, I feel I should bring up MA Larson and how confused I am by him. From what I've seen and heard, he seems to care about quality and be aware of how awful the show has gotten, yet he keeps writing for it and letting them edit his scripts into abominations. See, this is what happens when the show's entire staff pander to the fanbase and ignore the fact that the cartoon is meant to market toys towards young toddlers like "Transformers." But it goes beyond that. They didn't just pander to the fanbase. They pandered to the ultra-woke portion of the fandom, the people that tend to be creatively bankrupt and are obsessed with their own personal quirks to the exclusion of all else. But the crew also screwed with the marketing thing, too. G4 was nothing but a huge mess by the time Season 4 ended. But let's be honest. Selling toys was part of the problem with this show from the very beginning, too. Here's hoping AllSpark does a better job than DHX. But the really funny yet sad thing about this is that no matter how much rage comes out of this, Hasbro certainly won't learn a goddamn thing from the mess, will make the exact same mistakes with G5, and have no idea why it's a flop. At least what comes in G5 will be 100% them and not a scramble to recapture the magic someone else created. Freelance writers was clearly the wrong way to go for this show. A large part of G4's downfall was due to freelance writers not being able to communicate to each other properly. All AllSpark has to do is avoid the communication problem and they'll already have an improved product. Until G5 comes, we can maintain a smidge of hope that things can get better, right? Unfortunately, there's no guarantee they won't do the exact same thing as G4 did with their writers. I'm expecting "yeah, that was pretty okay I guess" as an absolute best-case scenario in G5. We already know G5 will be trash. G5 is going to be a trash fire. Hasbro knows it's going to be a trash fire. If anyone can positively compare FiM to G5, it's going to be obvious to everyone. Between announcements and leaked communications we know it will be run by the same hacks who ran G4 into the ground and, most damningly, we know they think the mess they made is good and will be doubling down on it. At this point the only way it can come back is after Hasbro gives up on G5. It'll also need time for the pain to fade and someone like Faust to come along and rebuild it. The good news is that should happen sooner this time around because that'll be someone from the fandom who was involved in seasons 1-2 and saw through the crap that came afterwards. You had it all, Hasbro. You had the community, a cult following (funny how true that is now), you had the writers and a great director at the helm in Lauren Faust who wanted to make a honest show to appeal to both kids and adults. You had all of the necessary ingredients to help propel your channel both in profits and in satisfaction. Your show could have been one of the greats that people would fondly look back to today after years go by. Instead, you took the show Faust created and pissed all over it. You turned into a discount Cartoon Network throwing any and all semblance of caring or having any shred of dignity just to try to keep the interest of your audience at the expense of well-crafted stories and you hid in your shells whenever backlash arose. Here's hoping that G5 alienates all of your hardcore fans.

No, she was not!

I . . . I can't believe I'm saying this, but . . . the writers finally did it. They actually made a Rarity episode that I didn't like. First, the positives. Spike and Gabby appear to be in a budding relationship, complete with a scene of Gabby sweetly feeding Spike a cherry, both of them shown to be visibly longing for each other in ways mere friends would not be after a supposed failed friendship, and Spike visibly blushing when he requests to join Gabby on her rounds at the end of the episode. Perhaps it is due to Spike's status as a main character, unlike Big Macintosh and Sugar Belle, but the wishy-washy nature of Spike and Gabby's relationship in this episode seems to be in line with trying to keep the status quo open should any future events come up that may derail this development. Mind you, this is a strange decision when considering this is the final season. Regardless, this episode took what would have been a crackshipping under any other circumstances and made it work. Spike and Gabby are an absolute delight to see together. Now, onto the negatives. This episode shows Rarity at her absolute worst of her own volition. As much as I adore her, I’m not going to say her choices were sympathetic. The episode is rather unsubtle about how it portrays Rarity as a jealous lover trying to control her significant other's actions and free time. Rarity's obsession with Spike reaches disturbing levels in this episode, her actions in trying to control his free time bordering on types of domestic abuse. Of course, the moment her slave thinks of even getting a life for himself, she loses her mind. Another reason for me to hate Rarity in this episode and in the hands of a competent writer Spike would have flipped the hell up at this point. While not necessarily out of character, it shows how Rarity has gotten too used to using Spike's adoration for her own personal benefit for the past eight seasons and makes one question how much she really respects him as a person. Having said all of that, I think it's safe to say Spike's crush on Rarity is over and done with. it was only a matter of time before Spike would realize that his crush on Rarity was never going to pay off. His lack of any romantic interest in Rarity at first sight at the start of the episode is the first sign that he is seeing someone else. He finally found someone who is a better match for him and it really shows with how happy he and Gabby are together. I personally am glad for these two characters. But this is ruined in the scene with Gabby flying through the halls as she hears Spike and Rarity playing Ogres & Oubliettes, which is a parallel to someone walking in on their spouse having an affair. Gabby’s devastated reaction upon entering the room only further drives the implications home. I mean, just look at that face.derpicdn.net/img/2019/7/20/2096674/medium.png]derpicdn.net/img/2019/7/20/2096674/medium.png That is not the face of a boy missing his new friend. That’s the face of a sudden and painful heartbreak. I’ve been there. It’s difficult to describe the turmoil of a budding relationship being torn apart by circumstances outside your control. And yet, despite that, the Rarity x Spike shippers and writers are going to lose their damn minds after this establishment. In spite of my hatred for this episode, I will say that it was nice to see Twilight act like an actual sister towards Spike, caring for him and defending him. After quite a few seasons suffering from increasingly worsening neurosis, I can't adequately describe just how refreshing it was to see Twilight Sparkle return to her roots as the voice of reason when she confronts Rarity over Spike's obvious crippling depression. However, what shocked me was that we got actual character development in the show for once! Color me shocked! Rarity comes to terms with the fact that friendships change and that finding a new friend to spend time with does not mean that he no longer values his friendship with her. While reluctant to do so at first, Rarity wills herself to show up at the post office and confess to Gabby about her underhanded and manipulative actions to win back Spike's company, resulting in Spike coming along to witness it. Things are quickly patched up, Gabby and Spike are very happy to see each other, and fly off together to catch up on lost time. But, despite liking the moral of the story, I really can't stand Rarity acting so despicable towards Spike. Turning a character into an asshole just to send a message really rubs me the wrong way. Though, this isn't the first time these writers have done that.

Yes, as headmare, Twilight should take the care of her students seriously, but not at the expense of three little fillies who did nothing wrong. She doesn't even bother to get their side of the story first before she goes accuaing them of setting up Cozy Glow and making her fail on purpose as a revenge scheme to get back at her for not letting them attend her school.

Well, this episode officially destroyed Twilight's entire character fot me. Whatever remaining, if any, likability she may have had after what she did in "Marks for Effort" is completely gone now. Screw this episode!

So, basically, the lesson here is: "When you develop a sudden phobia you've never had before it means it's just time to go to the local crackpot for help, because the best person to go to for psychiatric help is the local sociopath who, even after several years of freebies and zero consequences for repeated negative behavior, still struggles with the most basic concepts of right and wrong and still thinks using brainwashing methods is the best way to deal with problems, even though literally every terrible thing she's ever done and all the pain she's inflicted on others was the result of this mentality. And when someone's new hobby is a clear lapse into the bad destructive behavior that used to define their existence, not only should you not be the slightest bit alarmed but you should actually encourage this new hobby, especially if it is your self-appointed duty to mentor this person and keep them from returning to the terrible behavior they used to do. You certainly shouldn't get help from a professional, or your friends, or your mentor, or your parents." Seriously, this is why so many people HATE Starlight Glimmer.

This finale absolutely sucked! I hatedhatedit! Cozy Glow is by far the WORST villain this show has ever had!

I absolutely hated this episode! This is worse than "Dragon Quest!" This is worse than "Spike at Your Service!" This is worse than "Princess Spike!" Honestly, the only good thing about this episode is the fact that we finally got confirmation that Twilight was the one who raised Spike, not Celestia! Why it took them eight years to establish that Spike and Twilight are practically family, I have no idea!