S07:E25+E26 - Shadow Play

[Batbrony 15,994]

Addendum: the Pony of Shadows is apparently... this guy

[ShootingStar159 2,155]

15 minutes ago, Batbrony said:

My life may have been consumed lately by my move to Ypsilanti for my new job, but I still managed to make it in time for the season finale!  LET'S DO THIS!!!   

That’s not a real place... right?

[Castle Bleck 19,167]

Good: The Mane Cast's various MacGuffin scenes, the Pillars (including Stygian) in general, the Tree Of Harmony's backstory finally being revealed, and The Dazzlings' cameo.

 

Bad: Star Swirl's holier-than-thou attitude (thankfully, though, he got better), and The Pony Of Shadows being both an Anti-Climax Boss and a complete ripoff of Nightmare Moon.

Edited October 28, 2017 by The Artist Formerly Known As A.V.

[Will Guide 21,325]

3 minutes ago, Batbrony said:

Addendum: the Pony of Shadows is apparently... this guy

One of the lessons here: Don't let the darkness feed on your negative emotions.

It's okay to have feelings like anger, jealousy, and pride as long as you don't let them consume you!

2 minutes ago, The Artist Formerly Known As A.V. said:

Good: The Mane Cast's various MacGuffin scenes, the Pillars (including Stygian) in general, and the Tree Of Harmony's backstory.

 

Bad: Star Swirl's holier-than-thou attitude (thankfully, though, he got better), and The Pony Of Shadows being an Anti-Climax Boss ripoff of Nightmare Moon.

About StarSwirl's attitude: Celestia DID say in S3 Finale that StarSwirl didn't understand friendship as well as Twilight does! Of course, he would have that attitude at the start that thank goodness he's moved away from.

[Batbrony 15,994]

Ya know Twilight, after the way you quite unfairly, BRUTALLY took down Starlight, I'm sorry but I can't help but look forward to how all of this is going to blow up in your own face. 

Also, Indiana Jones pony????   I would have died if he'd shouted at Applejack, "HEY, THAT BELONGS IN A MUSEUM!!!" 

8 minutes ago, ShootingStar159 said:

That’s not a real place... right?

It is indeed real, my boy, in the magical, mythical land of... MICHIGAN! 

[PoisonClaw 8,153]

Seriously, is there anything Rarity CAN'T do? Mare of a million talents.

Of course, Garble had to show up again... I feel bad that Vincent Tong keeps having to voice characters that are jerks. And Flash.

[Jeric 46,835]

14 minutes ago, PoisonClaw said:

Seriously, is there anything Rarity CAN'T do

She can't have my pistachios. They're mines! 

No Rarity stahp! They are mine. 

 

 

[PoisonClaw 8,153]

Wow... Starswirl is a SUPER douche. No wonder he was never able to finish the spell Twilight did. 

[Batbrony 15,994]

Pffffftttttt... Somnambula is still NOTHING like Pinkie Pie, I still have no idea why she's supposed to be Pinkie's counterpart. 

[Jeric 46,835]

1 minute ago, PoisonClaw said:

Wow... Starswirl is a SUPER douche. No wonder he was never able to finish the spell Twilight did. 

Yep. Now Celestia's explanation in MMC makes sense. 

[Will Guide 21,325]

5 minutes ago, Batbrony said:

Pffffftttttt... Somnambula is still NOTHING like Pinkie Pie, I still have no idea why she's supposed to be Pinkie's counterpart. 

Actually have you noticed that Pegasus Somnambula and Earth Pony Meadowbrook are Earth Pony Pinkie Pie and Pegasus Fluttershy's Pillar counterparts, respectively, despite not being matching races like the other heroes?

It could be a subtle reference to the fact that originally Pinkie Pie was going to be a Pegasus for the G4 Reboot and Fluttershy was going to be an Earth Pony.

@PoisonClaw

4 minutes ago, Jeric said:

Yep. Now Celestia's explanation in MMC makes sense. 

That's what I said!

32 minutes ago, WiiGuy2014 said:

About StarSwirl's attitude: Celestia DID say in S3 Finale that StarSwirl didn't understand friendship as well as Twilight does! Of course, he would have that attitude at the start that thank goodness he's moved away from.

Does nobody listens to me? 

Edited October 28, 2017 by WiiGuy2014

[Batbrony 15,994]

HOLY BUCK, THE SIRENS/DAZZLINGS ARE CANON!!!  Whelp, there you have it, EQG (even though it was pretty apparent by now) is officially canon in MLP. 

[BastementSparkle 20,312]

5 minutes ago, Batbrony said:

Pffffftttttt... Somnambula is still NOTHING like Pinkie Pie, I still have no idea why she's supposed to be Pinkie's counterpart.

Somnambula is "Hope" right? Just like Pinkie she tries her best to remain optimistic and see the light in the darkness, even when things look down. Doing her best to help others and make their lives just a little better on dark days. She's not giggly and bouncy and silly about it like Pinkie, but I can see how the two are similar.

[Castle Bleck 19,167]

7 minutes ago, Batbrony said:

Pffffftttttt... Somnambula is still NOTHING like Pinkie Pie, I still have no idea why she's supposed to be Pinkie's counterpart. 

 

She sounded a lot more serious (and Zecora-like) than how she came across in her Legends Of Magic comic.

[Jeric 46,835]

Re: Somnambula and Pinkie ... an argument can be made that personality traits =/= the representative elements and virtues. 

[cmarston1 5,951]

Alright season finale time.  I can't believe it is finally here.  This season managed to fly by.

I have heard good things about it and I was curious to see how it would wrap the whole legends of Equestria storyline.

I thought that the episode ended up being great.

I loved the lore and worldbuilding we got out of it, and I really appreciated how the episode was able to handle having a large cast and having none of them feel useless.

EQG is now 100 percent irrefutably canon, which makes me soo happy, and I was happy to see Hollow Shade finally be acknowledged in the show.

I think this might be one of my new favorites of the seasons and one of my favorite MLP 2 part episodes as well.

I look forward to seeing how season 8 elaborates on what happened in this episode.

[Batbrony 15,994]

4 minutes ago, Jeric said:

Re: Somnambula and Pinkie ... an argument can be made that personality traits =/= the representative elements and virtues. 

I agree, I do, that episode in general where Somnambula was first introduced was just botched in so many ways that it made it harder accepting Pinkie as her counterpart.  She was the best part of it (Somnambula) but the rest was so clumsy and badly written and edited.

[PoisonClaw 8,153]

49 minutes ago, Batbrony said:

Addendum: the Pony of Shadows is apparently... this guy

In the end, you weren't wrong. The Pony of Shadows was little more than a parasite feeding off of Stygian. Add in his amorphous appearance, and he straight up Pony Venom.

[Compeador 101]

53 minutes ago, Batbrony said:

Addendum: the Pony of Shadows is apparently... this guy

I thought pony of shadow is pony version of the heartless

[Batbrony 15,994]

HOLY CRAP, SO MANY NEW CHARACTERS PERMANENTLY IN THE SHOW NOW, YAY!!!! 

That Star Swirl reunion with Celestia and Luna at the end was fantastic and I hope we get to see more of the Legends of Magic in general.  Also, that was a big ass group hug at the end of that episode. 

Well, Season 7 has come to an end.  My full review of this finale and the season won't be out for some time but I can safely say that Season 7 closes as my new favorite season of the show after five years of Season 2 being my favorite season.  It was a blast as always taking this journey all season with ya'll, everypony, and I cannot wait till we get to do it again next season.  Lots of exciting new opportunities have been opened up by the end of this season, and I can't wait till we get to see where the show goes next in Season 8!  Until then, everypony, this is Batbrony signing off.  I'm off! *cue dramatic exit* 

[PoisonClaw 8,153]

That... was... AWESOME! This may be not only the best finale, but two-parter overall. Normally, two-parters tend to have pacing issues as they try and cram in as much as possible before rushing the ending, and while you could argue that the end might have been rushed, you could also argue that it was the most logical conclusion.

In terms of writing, this episode wonderfully wove together the events of Daring Done, Campfire Tales, Health of Information and even Equestria Girls with the appearance of the Sirens, thus confirming that the movies are now canon. The Pony Of Shadows was certainly an intimidating villain, and I must know who his VA was, because he sounds familiar. Not only that, but we FINALLY got an explanation for the Tree of Harmony and visited Hollow Shades, which I wanted for years!

In terms of characters, everyone was top notch. Yes, you could argue, again, that Twilight was acting somewhat out of character with how she let the Pony of Shadow's free, except I would argue back that Twilight's admiration towards Starswirl is totally in character for her. He's been her idol for who knows how long, so once she was given the chance meet him, she didn't consider the consequences. Plus, being shunned by him would have made her feel worse, just as bad if Celestia had done it. And remember what Twilight's biggest fear was from The Crystal Empire? Starlight also got a lot of characterization, showcasing what she's learned since becoming Twilight's student and realizing that there might be another way. Even Starswirl, massive jerk that he was, was in character since, as Celestia sad "He did not understand friendship like you did."

In my mind, this was the perfect way to cap off Season 7, which overall has been a joy to watch.   

[Will Guide 21,325]

10 minutes ago, Batbrony said:

I agree, I do, that episode in general where Somnambula was first introduced was just botched in so many ways that it made it harder accepting Pinkie as her counterpart.  She was the best part of it (Somnambula) but the rest was so clumsy and badly written and edited.

This is why I hate reviews that focus on nothing but the negative without even acknowledging the positive. I'm more like Pinkie in that I try to look for the good in an otherwise terrible episode.

[Jeric 46,835]

16 minutes ago, Batbrony said:

I agree, I do, that episode in general where Somnambula was first introduced was just botched in so many ways that it made it harder accepting Pinkie as her counterpart.  She was the best part of it (Somnambula) but the rest was so clumsy and badly written and edited.

Yeah, I wasn't a huge fan of that episode for some of the same reasons. 

[FlareGun45 2,221]

So which counterpart is Stygian? Each Mane Six has a legend, but who's Stygian the legend of? Spike, Starlight, or Sunburst?

[Will Guide 21,325]

9 minutes ago, PoisonClaw said:

The Pony Of Shadows was certainly an intimidating villain, and I must know who his VA was, because he sounds familiar.

I already pointed that out! 

On 10/23/2017 at 8:04 PM, WiiGuy2014 said:

The Biggest I noticed was how The Pony of Shadows and Pharynx share the same voice, Bill Newton, and role as antagonist. The difference is that while the Darkness of the Shadow tried to consume Stygian when he was banished feeding on his feelings of betrayal , Pharynx actually cared about the safety of the Hive. Both were misunderstood, but were finally given the respect they deserved.

Seriously, it makes me sad when no one notices my good points.

Now I know how Starlight felt in this episode when she tries to point out how it's a Friendship Problem and not a problem that needs to be banished.

5 minutes ago, MegaSean45 said:

So which counterpart is Stygian? Each Mane Six has a legend, but who's Stygian the legend of? Spike, Starlight, or Sunburst?

Perhaps a little bit of all 3.

Edited October 28, 2017 by WiiGuy2014