S08:E25+26 - School Raze

[KH7672 1,604]

2 hours ago, Dark Qiviut said:

 

This exchange…

Quote

S08E01 Unnamed Unicorn Mare #3: They just sacrificed themselves trying to save their friend. Professor Dash always said there's nothing more loyal than that. Shouldn't we try to save them?

Cozy Glow: They brought this on themselves. There's nothing we can do.

S08E01 Unnamed Earth Mare #1: That doesn't seem very generous. Or kind.

Cozy Glow: Yeah, yeah. The Elements of Harmony are very important. They're just not applicable in every circumstance. And with magic gone from Equestria, I'm not even sure the Tree of Harmony will be as helpful as it once was.

[shimmering]

Cozy Glow: What's happening?!

S08E01 Unnamed Earth Mare #1: They're glowing like the Elements! I think the Tree of Harmony saved them!

…is some of the worst dialogue all season, even approaching the opening of School Daze, Part 1. Nothing they say was natural at all. The elements's names and incorporation of their classes were completely hamfisted, and no one from the mob sounded the least bit concerned for their well-being at all, even when the green mare asked Cozy if they should save them somehow.

Even worse is what Cozy said to conclude Pt. 1:

Quote

All this magic needs time to drain from Equestria before my vortex sucks it to another realm.

And she and the mob were about to leave as the vortex sucked the Student Six, Starlight, and the magic from Equestria to another one.

The vortex was supposed to eventually drain Equestria of its magic, and in the climax, it was revealed that Celestia, Luna, or their army were likely unable to fly. So why were Cozy, Dash, and some pegasi able to fly at all? Is the magic drained here related to pony flight or not at all? This is really confusing and borders on plot hole territory.

While you are not wrong with either of these issues I'm going to give you a perspective of each. For that exchange look at it as an official show writer and you know exactly why it happened. The Tree of Harmony is not mentioned once in the script before then. Every episode of this show is written with the intention that kids watching you don't have to watch every episode to understand. It helps immensely but it's not necessary. Take Cozy introduction in part 1. She is completely reintroduced as the assistant and shown just how much she is involved in the school. You never have to have seen previous episodes to understand her character. So now when it comes time for you're climax and the plot saving device there needs to be mention of what is happening. "Why is the Tree of Harmony intervening" "Oh because we learn the students represent the elements it holds from the background students." You never have to have seen "What Lies Beneath" sure you may not know what the tree of harmony actually is but all that matters is it saves the day and makes sense for the characters so it should make sense for the audience. I can't pin all the blame on Josh for that hamfisted dialogue, he's probably just doing what the show needs to for it's viewer base.

As for the lack of flying comment, in an animator's viewpoint the answer is right there for them to put into frame; it's Neighsay. It doesn't matter if all the characters can fly, he can't and if your job is to animate him coming back with an army it looks so much cleaner to have them all marching with him than them all flying about him solely on the ground. Now could you have thrown some guards in the air, perhaps but then you're dealing with their flight animations and who knows how much that would be on Flash (it could barely handle the 15+ characters in the last finale on screen)

[Dark Qiviut 22,379]

46 minutes ago, KH7672 said:

 

I don't have any issue with your reply, and you make a great point about Flash's limits (something I'm still too familiar with ). That said, they could've been incorporated my better to smooth it all out while staying within their limits and guidelines. For example, if something like Dash losing her supersonic speed or ability to make clouds while on the journey, Cozy having to flap harder to remain afloat, or (many) pegasi slowly losing in flight ability as SR progresses. Or for the dialogue, maybe incorporating more visible storytelling to show the Tree's roots, previously emphasize the catacombs as where the Student Six met the Tree, rearrange it or show more concern for the Young Six, and so forth.

Edited September 11, 2018 by Dark Qiviut

[Senko 459]

4 hours ago, KH7672 said:

While you are not wrong with either of these issues I'm going to give you a perspective of each. For that exchange look at it as an official show writer and you know exactly why it happened. The Tree of Harmony is not mentioned once in the script before then. Every episode of this show is written with the intention that kids watching you don't have to watch every episode to understand. It helps immensely but it's not necessary. Take Cozy introduction in part 1. She is completely reintroduced as the assistant and shown just how much she is involved in the school. You never have to have seen previous episodes to understand her character. So now when it comes time for you're climax and the plot saving device there needs to be mention of what is happening. "Why is the Tree of Harmony intervening" "Oh because we learn the students represent the elements it holds from the background students." You never have to have seen "What Lies Beneath" sure you may not know what the tree of harmony actually is but all that matters is it saves the day and makes sense for the characters so it should make sense for the audience. I can't pin all the blame on Josh for that hamfisted dialogue, he's probably just doing what the show needs to for it's viewer base.

As for the lack of flying comment, in an animator's viewpoint the answer is right there for them to put into frame; it's Neighsay. It doesn't matter if all the characters can fly, he can't and if your job is to animate him coming back with an army it looks so much cleaner to have them all marching with him than them all flying about him solely on the ground. Now could you have thrown some guards in the air, perhaps but then you're dealing with their flight animations and who knows how much that would be on Flash (it could barely handle the 15+ characters in the last finale on screen)

Except he's not a soldier and we have a MAJOR incident going on. Let Neighsay trot along with the unicorn guards while the princesses and the pegasi fly there signicantly faster, maybe even faster enough to get there before everything is lost. The one time we see a major deployment of the royal guards and they're still utterly useless.

Edited September 11, 2018 by Senko

[bwrosas 252]

Spoiler

 

 

[Sovereign Leader Rarity 12,006]

Seen this episode a few times as of now.

I won't say anything too revealing as of this time, though I am happy to claim that I prefer this episode significantly over the Season 7 finale, which left me extremely mixed. It's not a stunning endeavor by any means, but I do believe that it's pretty darn solid overall.

If I had to give it a score out 10, I'd Probably give it a strong 7 or a low 8.

[Loyal Defender 4,111]

 

If nopony else will memify Cozy Glow's face, I will.

[Cwanky 17,567]

Regarding Cozy Glow's true nature, I'm just gonna leave this here for now:

 

[RDDash 19,163]

Paz Ortega anyone?

I would be surprised if they redeem Cozy in season 9.

[KH7672 1,604]

Now say what you want about this finale or Cozy Glow, but they ended it on the greatest line to keep anticipation for the next season

Quote

Cozy Glow: (cutesy) Hey neighbor! (sinister) Wanna be friends?

Never has there been a finale that made me go, yes, I want to see more and you know clearly there's going to be more! 

[Loyal Defender 4,111]

You thought Cozy was terrifying in the finale? Well, how 'bout now?

Spoiler

 

Edited September 12, 2018 by Loyal Defender

[Loyal Defender 4,111]

I honestly think Cozy Glow was the best villain. She not only seemed perfect for manipulation, but the fact she occasionally used cutesy faces, possibly to decieve her victims, and how she was a master at twisting others' words around, I'd say she makes for a better villain than even Chrysalis. I could see her sanity dropping as the finale went on, and I slowly went from really liking her to fearing her. But that isn't to say I don't like her. She's still a really great character! And that final line in the finale.

 

shudder

"Hey there, neighbor! Wanna be friends? >:)"

Edited September 12, 2018 by Loyal Defender

[Princess_Bellalatanya 1,053]

saw season 8 finale and loved it so much i almost died

great to see  tirek and other side villians

cozy glow finally showed her true colors 

nice to see neighsay reforming

equestria now has the eea as an ally to twilight and her friends

now,tirek and cozy plot their revenge,and then things will get really really really reallly really really really bad 

Nice to see mares as royal gaurds now,although where was shining armor and sunburst in this episode 

somepony summon everyone,including the pillars,and sinset shimmer

putting cozy glow with tirek just marked the start of the end of not just Equestria,but all kingdoms overall and their destruction 

equestria is about to have an infinity war

btw kudos to mane 7 and the student six

[RulesofRarity 489]

On 9/12/2018 at 9:31 AM, R.D.Dash said:

 

I would be surprised if they redeem Cozy in season 9.

Seeing as they somehow managed to redeem the pony equivalent of a white nationalist I wouldn’t be surprised. 

[Rixton 1,105]

I really hoped that they will bring back Chrysalis somehow as she made a very good plan at a middle of the season.
Maybe next.

[heavens-champion 1,905]

On ‎9‎/‎10‎/‎2018 at 10:40 PM, Ganondox said:

I think they should have just had pegasi be unable to fly in order to be consistent with Twilight’s Kingdom. 

I found having Twilight’s group get trapped in Tartarus to be much more effective than just having them be kidnapped, but I agree that the subplot ended up being poor.

Beats getting captured without any explanation.

[Celli 4,337]

I just wanna say I love that Neighsay ended up having a change of heart if not only because it will piss off people who thought he was making a good point 😏

[TheAnimationFanatic 3,594]

3 hours ago, Celli said:

 

  Hide contents

I just wanna say I love that Neighsay ended up having a change of heart if not only because it will piss off people who thought he was making a good point 😏

 

Well, in a way, 

Spoiler

He kind of did. Not about the racist "Ponies only" thing, but about Twilight and her friends being woefully unprepared to run it.

They've never had jobs as teachers and their lack of experience (and sometimes, professionalism) nearly got the students killed (see "Non-Compete Clause").

But, the point of the school (and the season as whole) was that Twilight and co. are still learning. This is a new challenge for them. They mess up, badly at times (Non-Compete Clause), but with each failure, they learn and adapt.

 

Edited September 19, 2018 by Theanimationfanatic

[heavens-champion 1,905]

I would like to know why Nicole Dubuc wrote part 1, but Josh Haber wrote part 2? Why didn't both writers work on both parts?

[Loyal Defender 4,111]

Is it ironic that I like the song 'Neighsayer' from the MLP Movie soundtrack, but before, disliked Neighsay?

[Loyal Defender 4,111]

I get the strongest feeling we haven't seen the last of Cozy Glow....even if it DOES seem like she's trapped forever. 

[Silver Letter 1,832]

While I am glad the finale put some story points to rest, it also raised some more questions. Is cozy Glow as insane as people seem to believe? Having a mental illness isn't something that can be turned on or off. The filly didn't go to the crusaders and gain their help only to randomly curse them out, scream about power, and start chewing her own tail. She seems competent, power hungry and evil. To me, this sort of taints some of the prior episodes, knowing that the good cozy was just pretending to be good and following their lessons. In the end, she had to be stopped. She intended on being an ongoing threat. maybe she belonged in a mental hospital. maybe with Tirek? I cant be sure.

[cottonfuzz 0]

honestly one of the worst endings to a season in a while if I'm going to be honest, at least from what i've seen (which is mostly just clips, but still)

[YoshiAngemon 223]

I'm still wondering if I should watch this one, knowing the racism, Bigotry and evil involved. At least, a week after all of this is done, I can get to what I've REALLY waited for: New Episodes of DuckTales! WOO-OO!

[Chronicplane 58]

Spoiler

Gotta say I was surprised they didn't reform Cozy Glow, let alone banishing her to hell. Overall I enjoyed the finale episodes of season 8. Liked what they did with Neighsay, Cozy Glow while not exactly my favorite villain due to lack of complexity or true motive did find her manipulative personality and mentally unstable nature rather interesting as the antagonist. Though I am disappointing with how they handled Tartarus, Tirek and the CMC. . . The student six were handled very well, fluid, natural and entertaining. 

 

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,161]

All righty; we're in the home stretch of season eight! Season finale 2-parter coming this Saturday!