S08:E01+02 - School Daze

[YoshiAngemon 223]

7 minutes ago, Steve Piranha said:

They've probably skipped the time lapse. Makes sense, considering.....

 

  Reveal hidden contents

8 months passed between the premiere and Non-Compete Clause, EIGHT, MONTHS. AND IT'S NOT EVEN HALF THE SEASON  

 

Well, that was a pretty solid opener. I've already got a glimpse of the students from the aforementioned leak. I like the Mane6 are getting progress as characters, because life continues, and throws you unexpected opportunities, like I'm doing right now. I would mention that I was excited for the pony movie being canon but.....

  Reveal hidden contents

Another leak did that already 

Well, Mr Maurice performed well as Neightsay, but I've seen some comments comparing him with Trump  . I would like to discuss this further, but I don't think this is the place for that . Well, we know we'll meet him again as an antagonist, but I don't think he'll be a villain. Maybe another in the EEA, but he'll be a red herring at worst

LISTEN, I said I was sorry!

[Dark Qiviut 22,379]

Oh, and Starlight was outstanding here, especially in her blunt talk with Twilight outside the school. This little bit…

Quote

TS: But the EA rule book—

SG: *swats book into the moat* —Doesn't matter.

…really gets her.

[Steve Piranha 29,419]

14 minutes ago, YoshiAngemon said:

LISTEN, I said I was sorry!

For what tho  ?

[YoshiAngemon 223]

1 minute ago, Steve Piranha said:

For what tho  ?

For bringing politics into these forums in the first place!

[Mesme Rize 15,683]

Oh boy, do i really have to be the guy today that ruins the fun for everybody? Because i hate to be in that position.

But yeah, i thought the episode was not good in my opinion, even going so far as to say this was the weakest season opener since the Season 1 opener over 7 years ago.

 

First of all, eventhough i believe it might not be a problem for everybody in this forum (myself included,) but this episode thinks that you have watched the movie. Problem is, not everyone did and it's hard for some people to know what the mane 6 are talking about in the episode. Not really a problem for me, but can be for others.

Twilight should've known from the very beginning, that what she is doing is a bad idea. Didn't she learn back in season 4 that everypony is not learning the same way and that it could be boring for some? This is something that bothered me throughout the entire first part and the first 5 minutes of the second.

The episode also tried to fit in so many new characters at the same time, that it is really hard to have some sort of connection with them, especially with the new students which i feel like are just cardboard copies of the Mane 6. The seapony acts like pinkie, the dragon and the griffin like Rainbow, the changeling like Fluttershy, etc. How about giving them other characteristics.

 

Folks, i am sorry. If you like this, it's fine. But this episode just felt so flat and uninteresting for me. I have to give it a thumbs down.

[ShootingStar159 2,155]

40 minutes ago, A.V. said:

So, who else expects Chancellor Neighsay to be shipped with Principal Cinch?

Has anyone ever seen Chancellor Neighsay and Principal Cinch in the same room together? Just something to consider.

Edited March 24, 2018 by ShootingStar159

[Truffles 2,033]

2 hours ago, Dark Qiviut said:

So, how long did it take for the new school to be constructed? Popping out of nowhere isn't that big of a deal, but maybe a couple of brief scenes within a montage to show the construction's progress would better indicate how much time it took to build it.

When the school was just built instantly like that, I immediately flashed back to an ill-fated show called "Supertrain" (all you kids can Google it if you want to know more about that wreck of a show XD ) because the pilot of that series started out in a similar fashion - it opens with a CEO saying he's going to build the worlds first supertrain, and then it immediately cuts to a scene of the train picking up passengers in the station. Unlike "Supertrain", the story and characters in this two-parter were excellent, however. XD

[ChB 18,550]

About ten months ago, I wanted Twilight to start a school about friendship. Lo and behold, it came true!   

It's as if Michael Vogel read my mind, when I talked to him in the EQLA convention.

[ShootingStar159 2,155]

So, I really enjoyed this one. The first part was rushed to all heck. How much time do you think passed, just in that first song number? Seriously, talk about a lightning fast pace. The second part was much smoother. The first two parts of this season could have been a seasonal arc all on its own, which combined with the relic collecting in Shadow Play makes this twice in a row no less that we’ve had story compression of this kind. 

Some random thoughts:

I enjoyed the students more than I thought I would, Sandbar especially recovered from his initial poor impression. I didn’t expect to walk away from the first episode liking all of them, but that’s somehow exactly what happened.

When I watched some promotional footage, there was a bit shown of the opening scene with the new map. When I realized they were talking about the movie, I got really excited that they were actually going to talk about where Starlight was during it, but... nope, I’m now more confused than I was before.

The humor was really well done, with “Professor Egghead” winning my favorite running gag.

Starlight’s Guidance Councilor speech was a great moment, especially her knocking the book into the lake. I hope we get to see her actually interacting with the students this season though, her job is supposed to be counciling them, not the headmare.

STAIRS!!!

I liked seeing all the different leaders together, though I was holding out hope for Queen Gilda. Still nice to see Grandpa Gruff, who is apparently everyone’s grandpa.

I’ll have more thoughts upon further watches.

Edited March 24, 2018 by ShootingStar159

[Oleks 1,993]

Not a bad episode for a season premiere two-parter.

Although I’m still skeptical about the whole “school of friendship” idea, I enjoyed some things from the start, and was even pleasantly surprised at times. And AJ’s “apples are superior” class made me laugh big time.

My personal takeaways from the episode(s): 1. We have a new major villain, and it’s a unicorn again, only this time it’s a racist “for the greater good” one; 2. skipping classes is OK if they are boring, and Mane 6 are kinda lame as professors (except for Rarity who looks fantastic in her outfit) 3. interactions between different species went exactly how I expected, and they were well executed; 4. yaks can be very cute; 5. Starlight saves the day. Again.

Also, I think it would be much better if some minor characters became teachers in the school, and not the Mane Six. But alas…

Awaiting some good fanfics about the alternative timeline where the Great Interspecies War broke out after all.

[Prospekt 11,018]

Definitely one of the better 2-parters. I really enjoyed this. Part 1 felt a bit rushed, but regardless, the entire concept was executed quite well. I enjoy the extensive references to the movie, the new characters were lovable (except for Chancellor Neighsay, of course), and the songs were spectacular. The moral is incredibly relevant and I must say, this is the kind of Twilight I like to see. Still fairly insecure, still "by the book," and still driven to spread knowledge. Now she is truly beginning to take after Princess Celestia and become a great teacher in her own right.

It's a 9/10 for me. Spectacular. Gives me a lot of hope for the rest of the season.

There's only one thing that's really bugging me, but it's not something that really detracts from the episode... don't click the spoiler if you don't want potential spoilers of an upcoming episode.

Spoiler

I seem to remember seeing a video from Bronycon last year in which an animatic from the Season 8 premiere was shown, and it included Queen Chrysalis. I'm not sure what happened there... I was expecting to see her. Perhaps something got switched around in the past several months and the episode in question got moved to later in the season.

 

[Dark Qiviut 22,379]

5 minutes ago, Everyone said:

Spoiler

I seem to remember seeing a video from Bronycon last year in which an animatic from the Season 8 premiere was shown, and it included Queen Chrysalis. I'm not sure what happened there...

 

Leaked spoiler:

Spoiler

That wasn't from the premiere. She'll appear later in the year.

 

[Prospekt 11,018]

4 minutes ago, Dark Qiviut said:

Leaked spoiler:

  Hide contents

That wasn't from the premiere. She'll appear later in the year.

 

Got it, thanks.

26 minutes ago, ShootingStar159 said:

I enjoyed the students more than I thought they would, Sandbar especially recovered from his initial poor impression. I didn’t expect to walk away from the first episode liking all of them, but that’s somehow exactly what happened.

I fell in love with the students fairly quickly. Especially Ocellus. Already thought she was adorable earlier on, but the Rarity impression sealed the deal.

29 minutes ago, ShootingStar159 said:

The humor was really well done, with “Professor Egghead” winning my favorite running gag.

Agreed. And even Rainbow Dash's "220% cooler" line didn't feel forced.

 

31 minutes ago, ShootingStar159 said:

Starlight’s Guidance Councilor speech was a great moment, especially her knocking the book into the lake. I hope we get to see her actually interacting with the students this season though, her job is supposed to be counciling them, not the headmare.

This was some of the best Starlight we have gotten so far. Not gonna satisfy the incessant Starlight haters, of course, but as a Starlight fan I thought she was great in that little scene. Gives me hope for future roles as a guidance counselor at the school. Way to step up and show how much you have grown!

[Ganondorf8 11,288]

I'll admit that some parts of the premiere made me cringe while other parts were predictable, but I have to give total props to Maurice LaMarche for doing such an excellent job of voicing Chancellor Neighsay. The chancellor's attitude towards the other tribes came off to me as him being racist towards them or at the very least inconsiderate given they are part of this entire world and they deserve the same as ponies do. I had honestly hoped he would get what was coming to him but maybe it will happen sometime down the road.

The students... So adorable and so filled with character development though they could've used a bit more--the same with other characters--but I attribute that to there being way too many characters in the premiere and time constraints forcing certain ideas to be cut entirely. I mean, look at how long the cast list was when they were shown in the credits. In any case, I am looking forward to seeing what future developments will bring to them. I also feel that Neighsay didn't get to do all that much aside from asserting his feelings whilst almost causing a massive conflict to break out between the tribes.

Now, do I like the idea of a school dedicated to friendship? I personally don't see anything wrong with the idea so long as it's handled correctly, but Hasbro most likely saw it as a way to sell toys though this shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. Oh yeah. Kudos to the writers for referencing characters and locations from the movie though whether the characters will appear again is anyone's guess--they probably won't have their movie voices for obvious reasons--but the locations are sure to show off if the episode demands it.

As for the two songs... They were pretty forgettable but maybe I'll listen to them again sometime just to grasp the gist of their significance. One more thing... Pinkie's tiny confetti cannon is the cutest thing I've ever seen, especially the tiny confetti it fires. That and her other antics were once again appreciated though I'm curious as to how she managed to have cannons in the colours of her friends. Overall, I would give these two episodes combined a 92%.

[gingerninja666 487]

Between this and Shadow Play I like how Starlight seems to really have a high opinion of Twilight. "You are better than this." is how I would describe most of Star’s moments with her in these two parters.

She almost doesn’t seem to see Twilight as a friend. She sees Twi as someone who should be better and grander.

Which makes sense as she’s the pony who upturned her life, talked her down from madness and then stuck through with her whenever she made mistakes.

Edited March 24, 2018 by gingerninja666

[Truffles 2,033]

I thoroughly enjoyed this opener, though it does have a few faults:

Continuity issue with the school entrance. Right after it's built, there are stepping stones to the door (not very accessible for ponies in wheelchairs) but later it's a continuous bridge. Maybe someone clued Twilight in about getting sued? XD

Smolder and Spike shouldn't be scared over the puckwudgie's quills thanks to what Spike said and did way back in "Green Isn't Your Color," though the teeth might be a problem depending on their hardness.

Neighsay was rather one-dimensional. Maybe if it's revealed his xenophobia makes him insecure then that will help, but LaMarche vocalizations made the character interesting, at least.

I didn't get Ember being accusatory towards Thorax. While I could see a reason for her to be suspicious of Rutherford due to the bad blood between dragons and yaks (from the comics), her yelling at Thorax took me totally by surprise. In fact, why was she so concerned about Smolder, anyway? Unless Smolder is a family member? Dragons are solitary and

Spoiler

toss their kids out as soon as they hit puberty and take them getting predated on in stride. Or maybe Smolder was just trying to scare Spike when she said that in ep. 11?

 

Then there was a lot of stuff that was just interesting to note and some of it really cool:

Smolder and Gallus weren't the antagonists like I expected they would be and providing some of the conflict in the episode. I suppose they did bully a bit when they announced they were going to play hooky, but the scene is short and we get a great scene soon after at the lake (maybe the same one where Thorax and Ember became friends?) where all six students do some really heartwarming bonding.

Still no official job for Spike, other than school scribe? XD

Heh, AJ caught herself and had to say "everyone" instead of "everypony." And Celestia even used "everycreature" later on.

I'm trying to figure out Sandbar's character - he's laid back, but is concerned about rules and fears getting into trouble. Sadly, he's the least interesting of the bunch at the moment though I still like him.

Ocellus' Rarity cracked me up, and the looks on the other students' faces after her speech were priceless. That must have been fun for Tabitha to play her in such an over-the-top manner. Angel apparently isn't fooled by changelings, though it make me wonder what happened with him in the S6 finale.

I agree that the pacing for the first part was fast, but it held enough details to make it easy to follow what was going on. I imagine it was difficult once again for Haber and Dubuc to juggle all of these characters and leave time to let their personalities shine.

Spike pulling Twilight's pillow away and revealing she was crying under there was heartbreaking. I loved how he had a plan to cheer her up, though.

Twi's eye twitch when Spike mentioned her school was still unaccredited tickled my funny bone. XD

The Pharynx cameo was a nice touch. Would have liked to see a Gilda cameo, too!

We learned at least Silverstream is Novo's niece, and I like how Ocellus is a mix of Twilight's bookishness and Flutters shyness. It will be interesting when we learn the rest of the backstories for these characters later in the season.

Good job Twi - that's the second war you managed to almost start. XD

Silverstream and Gabbie totally need to meet each other. XD Egon would probably disapprove. :-)

So musical numbers are kryptonite for dragons? Now they know how to beat Garble should he ever try to invade. XD

The power of music however is apparently only matched by the power of Gallus' puppy dog eyes!

Pinkie had a really great quote that was my favorite of the episode when I saw it live, but I couldn't find it on the rewatch. I'll have to look for it again at some point.

And finally:

STAIRS!

[ggg-2 3,552]

It's so weird seeing someone like Thorax get pissed off.

[Dark Qiviut 22,379]

Even with its poor pacing problems early, clunky exposition, and the opener relying on you to watch the movie beforehand, this wasn't all that bad. Once school opened, everything improved significantly. The humor, dialogue, and story flowed better, especially halfway through Part 1 and through Pt. 2. Once SG assured her friends everything will be fine as long as Twilight doesn't get nervous, it turned around.

The episode could've fallen into a trap with Chancellor Neighsay, and that might happen later on. But here, Chancellor Neighsay's behavior makes sense. The Mane Eight were completely disorganized and had no idea how to plan ahead. Their poor organizational skills gave the School Six freedom to run amok and accidentally demolish part of the school. He was a major racist, but his line of thinking was believable, because pony relations with other creatures (and creature/creature relations) are still really raw, and hee rightfully doesn't accept Twilight's promise immediately. He'll be back…

Spoiler

…Maybe in Friendship University later in the year?

Overall, not a bad start.

---

Grade: B-/B (leaning the latter)

[Castle Bleck 19,333]

All the new students have great Ensemble Darkhorse potential, from what I saw.

 

17 minutes ago, Truffles said:

 

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toss their kids out as soon as they hit puberty and take them getting predated on in stride. Or maybe Smolder was just trying to scare Spike when she said that in ep. 11?

 

 

She's practically a Dragon version of Gilda; I wouldn't put it past her to try and troll.

[YoshiAngemon 223]

14 minutes ago, Dark Qiviut said:

But here, Chancellor Neighsay's behavior makes sense. The Mane Eight were completely disorganized and had no idea how to plan ahead. Their poor organizational skills gave the School Six freedom to run amok and accidentally demolish part of the school. He was a major racist, but his line of thinking was believable, because pony relations with other creatures (and creature/creature relations) are still really raw, and hee rightfully doesn't accept Twilight's promise immediately. He'll be back…

If anyone would be RACIST, it would be Daimando's interpretation of Prince Blueblood! In one recap, he says that HE will "Make Equestria Great Again, unlike that Flat Minor," before getting hit by a piano! Honestly, I hate anyone who puts "Ponies First" or "Americans First," You might have an abusive mean streak! Honestly, I'm waiting for Daimando to reveal that HIS Prince Blueblood is actually a Changeling Faker, made to make the REAL Prince Blueblood look bad! You know what? I'm gonna use a Password in the SNES Animaniacs Game to DEFEAT Pinky And the Brain, and tick off Thaddeus Plotz with what the movie REALLY is: An Animaniacs Movie!

Edited March 24, 2018 by YoshiAngemon

[aoEAF2FBvC0MIo2Q 3,673]

7 hours ago, GrimGrimoire said:

So what you are saying is that Equestria should have a dictator.

I'm sure this indicates that you understood me to a tee and will not in any way be arguing against conjectures I never made.

7 hours ago, GrimGrimoire said:

All of her subjects who fear these races whom have been hostile towards them in the past, tried to conquer them or outright destroy them, should now just immediately smile and accept they are cool and all best buddies or else they should be what?

How adorable, you're assuming this is about forced acceptance or something. It's fine if her subjects don't trust other races but let me tell you about something that's very important to consider: it's called context. There's no problem with what Neighsayer said. The problem lies with when he said it, where he said it. Had it been just him and Twilight, it would have been inconsequential. There's an important word right there! That right there makes all the difference. It was a diplomatic event with the leaders closeby. It was even spelled out in the episode that it became an international incident. Starting to get an idea of what the stakes are here? It's about averting geopolitical catastrophe. Heck, Equestria could have gone to war!

7 hours ago, GrimGrimoire said:

Sent to the moon, imprisoned, executed... or what?

That'd be excessive don't you think? How inconvenient for you. A suspension could probably suffice. It just has to be enough to show disapproval to the leaders of these other tribes.

7 hours ago, GrimGrimoire said:

And what about the suspicions from the other races that ponies (or each other) are the true problem in their world? Are they just not allowed to enter?

The heck are you on about? This is about damage control and for preserving the more stable status quo.

7 hours ago, GrimGrimoire said:

You do not silence distrust and suspicion by waving your finger and telling someone they are not allowed to think or feel that way...

That's not what it's about. I'm going to assume you understand by now that this has nothing to do with forced acceptance and everything to do with this being an international incident. This is about geopolitics.

7 hours ago, GrimGrimoire said:

you silence it by proving them wrong, which as of this episode has not happened in the grand scope of Equestria.

Tell me, what would be easier for Princess Celestia to explain to her subjects?

"I bear with me dire news. Because of an international incident, dragons, changelings and now yaks, griffons, hippogriffs have become hostile to Equestria and we could be at the brink of war." When asked how this happend, he responds: "Well... somepony insulted the leaders of these tribes."

Or...

Princess Celestia is asked about why disciplinary action had to be taken against Neighsayer. "He insulted the leaders and representatives of the dragon, changeling, yak, hippogriff and griffon tribes right to their faces. The damage is done but it could be worse."

I wouldn't think ponies would want to escalate tensions with possibly disastrous consequences just because some idiot ran his mouth at an inopportune moment. 

7 hours ago, GrimGrimoire said:

For the Mane 6 and Celestia and company the Changelings are reformed and working towards a unified peace, for the average pony they are probably still creatures out to conquer the world and feed on their souls. And this could be said for virtually all of the races towards each other. Neighsayer is wrong, but he also could be argued to have a perfectly legitimate point of view... considering the relations of ponies and all of these races has not been fantastic over the years and is only just now in very recent times being changed one viewpoint at a time. You do not change an entire communities (and in this case possibly an entire countries) way of thinking overnight. To even think so is ludicrous. You want to change that way of thinking... prove them wrong.... which it was painfully obvious the other races had no intention of doing since they were prepared to go to war and destroy everything around them just because some loudmouth said that is what their kind do. Way to show everyone around them that is not how they really are. I know if I was a pony having someone tell me dragons won't totally burn my village while dragons are totally burning my village I would trust them.

The question of the ponies' perception of these other races are a separate matter. Managing discontent is much easier to do when it's inside the borders rather than outside. If the leaders are on good footing, Celestia can just tell them the populace is still distrustful of outsiders and that any attempt at closer ties must be halted until tensions are settled. Good luck talking things through -- you know, what diplomacy is all about -- when these leaders don't want to hear it. Sure, it would slow things down and make communication with these representatives more awkward than it would be but it could have been a lot worse. Is that not what a responsible leader is supposed to do?

Is it unfortunate that disciplinary action had to be taken against Neighsayer? Yes. It all comes down to picking your poison.

Edited March 25, 2018 by Querch

[Misty Shadow 7,846]

Awesome premiere, one of the best. My favorite part was how everyone in it was being racist.

I'm part-joking, part-serious, I honestly was amused the whole time at how none of the kids held back with their comments against the ones from different species, but it wasn't my favorite part. My favorite part was the message. I usually don't like discussing politics in TV shows but for once, I feel like not talking about the message of the episode would be doing it discredit. I honestly loved how they had both liberal and conservative messages in this, like the goodness of natural diversity and the folly of racism for liberalism, and the folly of forced diversity through incompetent teaching methods in schools and showing how others are made to feel a drive to protect their land and identity for conservatism. Yet somehow, the overall message is politically neutral and incredibly powerful. Screw the rules, teach kids why they should be nice to each other rather than just how.  

As per usual, the pacing wasn't perfect, with a major plot turning point needing to be gone through as quickly as possible through a song, but I was still enthralled by it the whole time.

[Castle Bleck 19,333]

43 minutes ago, Querch said:

The problem lies with when he said it, where he said it. Had it been just him and Twilight, it would have been inconsequential. There's an important word right there! That right there makes all the difference. It was a diplomatic event with the leaders closeby. It was even spelled out in the episode that it became an international incident.

 

Yeah, that was what made it Stupid Evil for him.

[YoshiAngemon 223]

2 minutes ago, A.V. said:

 

Yeah, that was what made it Stupid Evil for him.

Where's Prince Blueblood, Ace Diplomat when you need him?

[Dynamo Pad 11,270]

I just finished watching the season 8 premiere and I really enjoyed these episodes a lot. It was great getting some continuity with the events of the MLP movie. Since the movie takes place between season's 7 and 8, it felt fitting to have it be mentioned in the beginning scene. I like how they mentioned Tempest and what she's been doing since after the events in the movie. It was interesting when Celestia explained about the EEA for running a school. Chancellor Neighsay had an interesting appearance. I like how he and The Brain are voiced by the same person. I always imagined it was the Brain when the chancellor was speaking, but I soon got used to seeing the voice as Chancellor Neighsay. I was a little taken aback at how quickly the school was created. I was expecting a montage of the school being build, or a song that went with making and planning a school. I liked how Ember, Thorax and the other creatures made an appearance in the premiere. The students that were attending were pretty interesting and the dynamic of the group worked pretty well throughout the episodes. I liked how each of the mane 6 were teaching their class, but then were told by Twilight to do the class by the book. It was cool seeing Starlight be the school's guidance counselor. At first when the teaching roles were revealed, I wasn't sure how her role would suit her. However, seeing her helping Twilight through her dilemma was a pretty awesome moment. I liked how she took a different approach compared to the rest of the mane 6. It was pretty cool and great to see the Castle of the Two Sisters again after a couple of seasons. When it came to looking for the students, I felt like they were somehow sneaked their way into the school. It felt satisfying and empowering how Twilight and the others were able to stand up to Chancellor Neighsay and his feelings toward the school and education. The moral was pretty good and the songs were enjoyable and somewhat catchy. All in all, I really liked this premiere and it feels good for MLP to be back with season 8. I'm really looking forward to what this season, along with the new and returning characters, has to offer to us viewers and fans.