S08:E01+02 - School Daze

[PoisonClaw 8,164]

So... Hippogriffs can now turn into Seaponies at will? Neat!

 

[Lexamena 391]

Omg they're Critters from the 80s movie. Except pink and blue! 

[Dark Qiviut 22,405]

9 minutes ago, PathfinderCS said:

Sooooo...the Everfree is still dangerous y'all.

As well it should. The Everfree Forest has been sterile or forgotten by the show since Discord's seeds went into labor in S4.

[PoisonClaw 8,164]

Why do I get the feeling that Neighsay, with his racism and stick shoved very far up his behind, will be back at some point? 

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,161]

OKay...well...leave it to the writers to take a concept that should either be boring or annoying, and turn it into something interesting.

THAT WAS EXCELLENT!!!!

[Buttonmash1973 1,026]

deleted

Edited March 25, 2018 by Buttonmash1973

[cmarston1 5,959]

Not gonna lie, the hiatus between seasons 7 and 8 felt really short to me, so I can't say I was super excited for this season premiere.  However I was pretty interested in seeing how the whole friendship school concept was going to be implemented, so I was looking forward to seeing how that would play out on screen.

With all that in mind, I enjoyed this episode.

I was surprised that the episode opened up by mentioning the events of the movie, and I really liked Fluttershy's line of having enough of life threatening adventures.  

I liked the friendship between the main students and overall I thought the episode was good even if it is not my favorite premiere.

[Goat-kun 2,527]

15 minutes ago, PathfinderCS said:

Sooooo...the Everfree is still dangerous y'all.

My local "park" is more dangerous than Everfree.

[jorge123esp 912]

Really nice premiere. This episode showed how a school should be nowadays (in my opinion ). 

Also, nice songs (specially the second one)

Edited March 24, 2018 by jorge123esp

[Dark Qiviut 22,405]

Gotta say I'm glad Chancellor Neighsay wasn't reformed and remained confirmed in his (justified) beliefs at the end.

That said, I like it. The one problem I had is they got really preachy with the "friendship" thing. Saying "friend" and all its variations so often.

Once I watch it in full, I'll get clearer thoughts.

[AlbaTross 1,586]

Well, I'm glad I finally got to see this!  I've been waiting for the season to officially start to watch these episodes and now it finally has!  Way to show the authorities...by writing an even bigger book...wait, what?  Overall though, I think it's a great couple episodes with a good moral on friendship, regardless of race or creed.  

[ggg-2 3,553]

Okay, why didn't Celestia strip Neighsay of his position? Blatant racism (and i do mean blatant) should be grounds for it.

[aoEAF2FBvC0MIo2Q 3,673]

School Daze was quite an apt title choice @~@

I'm most confounded with how Neighsay wasn't immediately disciplined and reprimanded for harming international relations for his brazen remarks about "dangerous creatures" right in front of the rulers of said creatures! That in itself had to warrant immediate consequences. I really can't believe that was allowed to fly.

[Denim&Venöm 18,995]

2 minutes ago, ggg-2 said:

Okay, why didn't Celestia strip Neighsay of his position? Blatant racism (and i do mean blatant) should be grounds for it.

 

Just now, Querch said:

School Daze was quite an apt title choice @~@

I'm most confounded with how Neighsay wasn't immediately disciplined and reprimanded for harming international relations for his brazen remarks about "dangerous creatures" right in front of the rulers of said creatures! That in itself had to warrant immediate consequences. I really can't believe that was allowed to fly.

Apparently Equestria has protected freedom of speech, and punishment from Celestia could be seen as government censorship of his beliefs. 

[GrimGrimoire 4,973]

Just now, ggg-2 said:

Okay, why didn't Celestia strip Neighsay of his position? Blatant racism (and i do mean blatant) should be grounds for it.

They are not on Earth in the modern day that is why.

Although for people watching it it may seem simple and easy, but for them they could be argued as having justifiable feelings considering they are just opening their borders to each other overall as races. I am sure there is a lot of suspicions all around for all of the races on how to view each other.

You don't change those viewpoints by saying "Do this and believe this or else!" That only strengthens them.

2 minutes ago, Denim&Venom said:

Apparently Equestria has protected freedom of speech, and punishment from Celestia could be seen as government censorship of his beliefs.

Not really. But it would fly in the face of the whole reason for the idea of this school existing. You don't teach friendship and harmony by enforcing it and demanding it.

[aoEAF2FBvC0MIo2Q 3,673]

1 minute ago, Denim&Venom said:

 

Apparently Equestria has protected freedom of speech, and punishment from Celestia could be seen as government censorship of his beliefs. 

Heh. Ha ha hah! OK, so that's the game you want to play, eh? Breaking diplomatic ties with foreign nations and endangering national security security for a blatant misinterpretation of "freedom of speech." You'd give Discord a run for his money! 

[PoisonClaw 8,164]

Well, another hiatus has finally come to a close and we can all bask in the magic of ponies once more! As for these two episodes, I thought they were pretty solid. I've seen a lot of people talk about how Twilight was the "bad guy" for the first half, but the thing is, and this might be just me reading between the lines, but Twilight was so focused on making this work, she was afraid that deviating from the EEA guidelines would get her school shut down in an instant. I mean, can you really blame her since the EEA is a group of shadowy people in a poorly lit room?

I liked the new group of characters, who are a nicely varied bunch in both design and personality. My personal favorite though are Smolder and Ocellus

And then we have Chancellor Neighsay.

 

Yeah, guy's a total bigot, to the point it's amazing he doesn't have a Windigo following him around at all times. Come to think it, Neighsay seemed like the only member of the EEA who seemed to have a problem with Twilight's school. Expect to see him again somewhere down the line this season, I count on it.

So, overall, these were a pretty good pair of episodes to start the season off, with great characters, funny scenes, great dialogue and an interesting and yet kind of topical take on the issues regarding the education system.  

[Dark Qiviut 22,405]

1 minute ago, PoisonClaw said:

Expect to see him again somewhere down the line this season, I count on it.

According to LaMarche, Neighsay will:

 

[CypherHoof 26,483]

3 minutes ago, PoisonClaw said:

Well, another hiatus has finally come to a close and we can all bask in the magic of ponies once more! As for these two episodes, I thought they were pretty solid. I've seen a lot of people talk about how Twilight was the "bad guy" for the first half, but the thing is, and this might be just me reading between the lines, but Twilight was so focused on making this work, she was afraid that deviating from the EEA guidelines would get her school shut down in an instant. I mean, can you really blame her since the EEA is a group of shadowy people in a poorly lit room?

Plus of course this is TWILIGHT - following a rule book is what she was born for.

 

3 minutes ago, PoisonClaw said:

I liked the new group of characters, who are a nicely varied bunch in both design and personality. My personal favorite though are Smolder and Ocellus

And then we have Chancellor Neighsay.

I do like all the new students, and think this grouping could be the new CMC.

Neighsay was a bit much though; have to wonder if this is somehow a Chrysalis thing?

 

[dlw 11]

Wow, great episode. I hope we'll get more of the 'Creature 6'.

[GrimGrimoire 4,973]

2 minutes ago, PoisonClaw said:

I thought they were pretty solid. I've seen a lot of people talk about how Twilight was the "bad guy" for the first half, but the thing is, and this might be just me reading between the lines, but Twilight was so focused on making this work, she was afraid that deviating from the EEA guidelines would get her school shut down in an instant. I mean, can you really blame her since the EEA is a group of shadowy people in a poorly lit room?

This pretty much describes modern day school systems to a tee. A bunch of almost anonymous people in a room who never set foot in a school deciding how schools should work instead of the ones running the schools. And a large set of books on how to teach and run a school that sometimes flies against everything those on the road wanting and learning to teach are taught as they progress in their studies. But of course this is a whole different conversation for a whole different thread.

Still, I liked the call out to it and how Twilight went around it.

[Denim&Venöm 18,995]

8 minutes ago, Querch said:

Heh. Ha ha hah! OK, so that's the game you want to play, eh? Breaking diplomatic ties with foreign nations and endangering national security security for a blatant misinterpretation of "freedom of speech." You'd give Discord a run for his money! 

Well Celestia apparently didn't need to do any either of those. 

And as Celestia said, not even she can dictate the EEA. In a way, Neighsay is above her. 

[GrimGrimoire 4,973]

6 minutes ago, dlw said:

Wow, great episode. I hope we'll get more of the 'Creature 6'.

They were alright overall, just hope they are not another set of the Care Bear Cousins.

Still, team Silverstream and Ocellus all the way!

[King of Canterlot 9,603]

A very good season opening overall, though I'm still going to have to get used to seeing all the other creatures too besides the ponies. I hope this season can also build up a few of the new characters personalities too, because as of right now, they seem....... a little stereotypical, so let's hope they actually build more into the new inter-creature group of friends at some point. 

This season looks promising! 

[Zantetsuken 364]

Wow. I have not posted here in a loooooooong time 

Guess I'll fix that 

So what did I think of the Season 8 premiere? It's a pretty good episode but it's really just setting the stage for the rest of the season.

I liked the new students but I feel they didn't leave as big an impact on me as they should have as I can barely remember their names. This is a hard episode to judge cause it's like trying to judge the dinner you are gonna receive at a restaurant by just the appetizer. As I said, the episode is good but it's a set up more than anything. Not saying that's a bad thing, but it makes it harder to critique cause I would like to see what they do with the school angle. I tried to not watch anything from the content flood and I mostly succeeded, I quickly skimmed one episode but that's it. Point is I want to know what they do with the school angle.

I do have one issue. I found the ending to be anticlimactic the ending basically is 

Spoiler

Neighsay- "Rah! Who broke my lock?"

Twilight- "Move out of the way I'm re-opening the school!"

Neighsay- "But you can't! It's not EEA approved!"

Twilight- "Yeah, screw you, imma do it anyway!"

Neighsay- "This displeases me." *walks away through portal.*

That's the biggest Issue I have with the episode really. Everything else is pretty solid, I like the songs too. They canonized the movie as well, I feel that is worth mentioning. I still think it would have been better if it was set between seasons 6 and 7 rather than 7 and 8. Cause, like in the movie where were the pillars or the elements of harmony? It would have worked for season 6 and 7 cause the elements weren't at the mane 6's disposal but now they are again, but that's a nitpick and this is about the season 8 premier, not the movie. 

Anyway I think the episodes were pretty good 8/10 overall

Edited March 24, 2018 by Zantetsuken