S08:E25+26 - School Raze

[Brainstorm 4,092]

It was a good episode, we saw Tirek again, Student Six saved the Magic and Equestria, too bad about Cozy Glow though.

[CastletonSnob 3,025]

I can't believe we only have one more season before the show ends. 

I'm not ready for the show to be over. 

[Them's Seeing Ponies 282]

1 minute ago, VG_Addict said:

I can't believe we only have one more season before the show ends. 

I'm not ready for the show to be over. 

To be honest, I honestly believe it's for the best that FiM is ending soon. It's been a great run, but there's no real victory in continuing it until staleness hits (even perennial long-runners such as The Simpsons began to decline around their eight/ninth seasons). I appreciate S8 for its willingness to endeavour into new territory (and having it pay off more satisfactorily than I felt with S6 and 7), but nine seasons is enough (I suspect that the Student Six may be receiving a spin-off or comic material following S9 to expand further on their development).

[TheAnimationFanatic 3,543]

1 hour ago, Them's Seeing Ponies said:

To be honest, I honestly believe it's for the best that FiM is ending soon. It's been a great run, but there's no real victory in continuing it until staleness hits (even perennial long-runners such as The Simpsons began to decline around their eight/ninth seasons). I appreciate S8 for its willingness to endeavour into new territory (and having it pay off more satisfactorily than I felt with S6 and 7), but nine seasons is enough (I suspect that the Student Six may be receiving a spin-off or comic material following S9 to expand further on their development).

I actually quite liked S6 and S7 is my favorite.

But yes, I'd rather FiM end on a high note before seasonal rot kicks in.

[JH24 385]

One thing isn't entirely clear to me. Would the magic have disappeared forever? Because if so, would Equestria not become almost uninhabitable without sun or moon, without Earthponies to work the land or Pegasi to manage the weather? It would fit Cozy's narrow perspective if she never even thought about that.

Somehow on the first watch I assumed Cozy was going to use all the magic for herself as she becomes the Empress of friendship, making all ponies dependent on her for their survival. But it feels that was not the case.

Edited October 13, 2018 by JH24

[Misty Shadow 7,084]

How I love the irony of one of this show's most calculating, cunning villains by far being a little girl. It was clear there was something off about her from the start in how weirdly devious her scheme to get the Cutie Mark Crusaders into school was, but it's only in this finale where we get to see just how evil she actually is. Neighsay at his worst couldn't even compare, and after she used racism herself to turn the school against the Student Six, it felt like a message was trying to be sent about the worst racists in this world being those who try to sell it as "good". Even worse was how she got all those friends and then only wanted to use them as tools. That would make her worse than Discord ever was for sure, since he had never had a friend before. I know I'm going on about Cozy a lot, but it's always incredible to see such a great villain of the show get a chance to display so much of their evil glory. I also loved how the Mane 6 had to get by without their magic, how well elements from the earlier episodes tied in, like with how the power of the Tree of Harmony saved The Student Six, and how many doors have now been opened for great story opportunities. I mean, now we have Tirek and Cozy potentially joining forces, we have Chrysalis still on the loose possibly coming back to see what the Tree of Harmony has evolved into, and Cadance's conversation about the Crystal Heart with Celestia possibly foreshadowing the return of King Sombra.  Really, there is no reason why Season 9 shouldn't be the best season of the show, but this season was still a blast overall. 

[MLPFanatic34 3,234]

Next to the season finale of Season 5 and 6 this is probably my favorite Season finale hands down, I loved the overall message of this episode and it was awesome to see Tartarus since we didn't see much of it in Season 4's finale. I was happy to see Tirek returned and is still quite a menacing threat even if he's working behind bars. The Young Six were fantastic and I really hope we get to see them wield the elements in some way in Season 9. The CMC were also fantastic even though they didn't appear to do much other than distract Cozy Glow. OMG is Cozy Glow a great villain, I was honestly wondering if she was secretly Chrysalis throughout most of Season 8, but now that it's been confirmed she isn't, I'm pleased. Nevertheless she is a menacing, cunning and downright manipulative villain especially for someone that's supposed to be the same age as the CMC, it almost makes me wonder how old she really is . I am curious where the magic that Cozy Glow stole would have ended up, I've been hearing that it may have ended up in Grogar's realm, but I'm unsure. 10/10 finale!!

[ShootingStar159 2,155]

A pretty enjoyable finale, but was held back by two pretty big flaws: Cozy Glow is the worst villain in the show, and the needless focus on the main six in Tartarus (which actually makes Cozy even worse as a villain since they managed to escape on their own.)

Cozy Glow was so terrible, I could make an entire rant post about her, and I probably will, but in short she was was delusional, idiotic, and incompetent. Not only was her plan doomed to failure, it wouldn’t have even worked if it wasn’t since the M6 escaped on their own. Her plan would have destroyed Equestria, and even if the main six hadn’t escaped, it still relied on the entire, now devastated, nation listening to and taking seriously, a (indeterminate age) filly. And the worst, the absolute worst part is, it was entirely unnecessary. There was no time limit or rush, Cozy could have grown up as Twilight’s student and “right hoof filly”, gaining knowledge not just about friendship, but leadership, earning the trust of everyone around her, until she had gained enough friends and “power” to make a realistic grab for power. Seriously, her plan involved having the most friends in Equestria, but how many friends had she really made? What exactly made her think that she was ready for this plan? Look at this, I even said I would rant somewhere else...

There’s a few other flaws, like the “Oh no, the school’s going to be destroyed... oh wait never mind” moment, or the CMC’s flaccid involvement, but they don’t really effect the story like the big fails.

 

Other than that though...

The students were good, I liked the Main Six’s interactions in Tartarus, especially Pinkie with Tirek and Rainbow’s escape attempt. I liked Starlight’s role here, even if it’s pretty absurd that magically knowledgeable Starlight would get close enough to get trapped in an unknown magical swirling vortex. It was fun to see Cozy manipulate the school like she did in her speech. The end with the “graduation” scene was a nice touch.

On the whole, an enjoyable episode, but it lacked the cohesiveness and high’s of other season finales. 7.5/10, certainly not the best, but still pretty enjoyable.

[Thrond 3,257]

Too predictable and formulaic to be this self-serious. Actually pretty fun when it lightens up a little. Simplistic but admirable themes stated a bit too bluntly. Probably too many moving parts for its own good. The usual. This is more plausible than last year's finale, but it's also less empathetic. On the other hand, I did find it a bit more fun, and the much more inspired worldbuilding this year does give this year's finale an advantage. I still have my fingers crossed that one day this show will do something different for its finales, but until then they remain watchable but unexciting to me. Still, some specific points:

• I think the show's a bit naive in suggesting Neighsay would be convinced to change so quickly. Furthermore, I don't actually care that much about his change of heart, so nobody else seems to actually learn anything from this whole debacle. 
• I still get a bit of a kick out of how overtly political this show is with regards to the Neighsay stuff. This is essentially about someone exploiting prejudice in order to gain power, and that's certainly territory I would never have expected from this show.
• I think that's all stated a bit too directly to be more than mildly interesting, and it's also kinda rudimentary. More importantly, I don't really care about Neighsay, and aside from him this doesn't have much character development, and like almost every finale since season 4, the plot often gets in the way of opportunities for jokes. 
• The Tartarus stuff is kind of a waste of time, but its sheer irrelevance actually allows it to be kinda fun and quirky. I mean, they wind up playing with Cerberus, and that's pretty cute, and there are some great Pinkie Pie moments here, as always. She was the bright spot in last year's finale, too. All of that kinda makes the student six stuff look flatter by comparison. Wish it added more to the show than the upteenth reiteration of the importance of friendship. 
• I'm usually not that satisfied by spectacle in this show, but the Tree of Harmony scene was nice. It's a nice reminder that the tree, too, has learned a lot about friendship; for most of these characters, I just take that for granted to the point that I don't even care about it anymore, but the Tree is this weird, ancient, unknowable being, so that's actually kinda satisfying. 
• Cozy Glow just seems too insincere to have the charisma of, say, Chrysalis, and I don't really care about Tirek as a character in and of himself. At first I did enjoy her general suspicious aura, but she's not as witty as this show's best villains. Really hoping that stinger at the end doesn't go anywhere. 
• Got excited for a moment that Cadance might have a bigger part of this. Alas, it was not to be.  
• Why are these six students the only ones who distrusted Cozy Glow? Were there no other non-ponies in the school?
• The first few minutes are delightful; Twilight's anxiety is always fun, and seeing the others competently fill their jobs was nice as well. I wish we got more of that this season in a better context. This show really missed the opportunity to explore the main cast from a new angle. 
• I want Pinkie Pie to knock on my door and offer me free pizza. 
• Like last year's finale, this takes an eternity on setup. At least that setup isn't completely pointless this year. 

Score:
Entertainment: 5/10
Characters: 7/10
Themes: 7/10
Story: 4/10
Overall: 58/100

[Patty Thundersnow 4,129]

This episode was a great way to end the season. It built up slowly but sure enough, the second half was nonstop. The build up is everything. If it's too fast, the story will feel contrived. If it's too slow, the story will suffer. Cozy Glow was a good villain, but had an enormously stupid reason to be so. Overall, I gave this episode a grade of 9.1/10. It'll be interesting to see if they can keep momentum heading into what is (supposedly) the final season.

[TheAnimationFanatic 3,543]

Says the guy who liked "Dragon Quest".  /S

All joking aside, this was a very solid ending to an overall very solid season. 

My ranking of the finales:

1. Twilight's Kingdom 

2. Shadow Play

3. School Raze

4. The Cutie Re-Mark

5. A Canterlot Wedding

6. To Where and Back Again

7. The Best Night Ever

8. Magical Mystery Cure

 

 

[Thrond 3,257]

Season finales ranked: 

1. "The Best Night Ever" (100)
2. "Twilight's Kingdom" (95)
3. "To Where and Back Again" (85)
4. "A Canterlot Wedding" (68)
5. "School Raze" (58)
6. "The Cutie Re-Mark" (53)
7. "Shadow Play" (48)
8. "Magical Mystery Cure" (18)

Just now, Theanimationfanatic said:

Says the guy who liked "Dragon Quest".  /S

 

Can you not

[TheAnimationFanatic 3,543]

1 minute ago, AlexanderThrond said:

Season finales ranked: 

1. "The Best Night Ever" (100)
2. "Twilight's Kingdom" (95)
3. "To Where and Back Again" (85)
4. "A Canterlot Wedding" (68)
5. "School Raze" (58)
6. "The Cutie Re-Mark" (53)
7. "Shadow Play" (48)
8. "Magical Mystery Cure" (18)

Can you not

Can you lighten up and learn to take a joke.

Edited October 13, 2018 by Theanimationfanatic

[JCKane 345]

First of all... WOOO!! I called it!  I KNEW she was a villain!!!  Well, after the catacombs episode!  Woo!

Anyways, ugh, more DVR issues but thankfully found another way to watch part 1.  Nonetheless, I enjoyed this 2 parter.  Cozy Glow makes for a pretty fun Villian, as I really like how they have her set up.  Using Friendship itself as a weapon is pretty interesting.  And Woo! Tirek was back-ish.  Granted, I wonder if this should count as his '2nd' appearance. Since I mean, so far, Every Villian Minus Queen Crysilis have been uh... 'befriended' by their 2nd appearance.  I'm super interested to see what they do next with Cozy Glow and even Tirek.

Then you have the Elements of Harmony with the students being bearers of them... I honestly think that it's almost 'inevitible' at this point.  When it'll happen is anyones guess.  But right now I can see 2 possiblilities, at least how I'd do it.   1) Would be the season 9 opener, which wouldn't be the first time they 'hinted' at a special bond/power in the Finale then dealt with the crazy aftermath premiere of the next season.  Actually, most seem to do just that. (Season 1 to 2 was the only one that didn't as the 'special thing' happened in the Premiere instead of the Finale).   So I could easily see the primere being either a 2 parter or just a single episode where strange things are happening to the young 6 based on their element, then it accumulating into them needing to 'save the day' or something using their new 'Elements team blast' or something. 2) I honestly could see them setting it up for the Young 6 to becoming bearers at the series Finale.  In a way, it'd pretty much set it up like a 'passing of the torch' type thing at the end where the Mane 6 need to save the day one final time, or even they try to save the day only to either require the Young 6 to help... OR even find out they can't do it but the NEW element bearers can, type of situation.   But those are just my thoughts.

Side note: "The 6 of you are trapped with me"  Spike: 7!!    

[doomie-22 17]

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

[ImpctR 155]

Okay the Season 8 finale! Finally, reached it and watched it. As much as I was avoiding spoilers I heard it was going to involve Tartarus and Tirek though I imagined it more in some Twilight's Kingdom way. So, I did flashbacks through Season 4 Finale, and the School Daze, What Lies Beneath but also the mean 6 thinking there would be some relationship.

The Season 8 finale, I find it much better than Shadow Play and as much as the Pillars of Equestria give me the vibes of the classic fantasies I like the most, they are so forgettable, ever since they appeared and the finale proved their uselessness. Does anyone think that they were better off sent to the past? I did find it curious to be in the present, but somehow I don't care. With that said, I give the episode 5/5, better than Shadow Play, it was thrilling enough for me to like it, kept in in tension what was going to happen but with I give this rating with SOME BIG REMARKS. Let's see what the huge things I disliked and what I liked. Perhaps since it was known from the very beginning

Spoiler

Cozy is not Chrysalis?

What? Some little filly can do so much damage!? I understand she could be some wunderkind but no... just nooo... she is THE MOST DESPICABLE villain I've ever seen because I like villains if they have some level of coolness, power but I refuse to think that some filly without magic can do SO MUCH DAMAGE! Like get out, she is so uncool and so not having the power to do that, so it was UNBELIEVABLE that she was NOT Chrysalis. I was waiting for her to turn into Chrysalis at any time , I don't know whether it was rumored Mean 6 has any relation but apparently does not. In other words, I question the idea all that had to revolve around Cozy Glow, I thought she was someone much bigger, no way! This is my biggest remark.

What made me like the episode but not as much as 'Twilight's Kingdom' still  the king of the finales IMO (im not Dragonball Z fan or anything but it felt so thrilling, the power of the Tirek, I just saw how many also like this finale the most gj), The Cutie Re-mark and 'To where and back again' that would gradually decrease in likeness. What made me like it is how it went back to Twi's Kingdom and other past episode references, I love when I see those, which is why I thought Chrys would be there too.

To break it into parts;

 

Spoiler

 

Yona is the funniest of the School 6, the cannon ball that falls out of the sky, always kind of chuckle when she's in such situation. And now to the serious parts:

 

Spoiler

 

oh my Starlight without magic was something never seen since all happened before her appearance.

Ever since Cozy suddenly replaced Starlight, I was like 'what?' Some unimportant filly becomes the head of the school? Then I started thinking Starlight might be captured! Predictable okay.

 

Spoiler

 

Even more world exploration! Tartarus! Well it's not like so much was seen from the place but look: There's vegetation, rain, flies! Didn't Twi's Kingdom leave the impression it was barrens with nothing but rocks? Blueberries! No.. well, maybe eatable.
 

Spoiler

 

 

Totally like this gate ornamentation, looks so interesting and ancient or alien lol. Then they enter and I'm like 'Did they just realize? They trapped themselves forever but didn't think before entering'. And the pitch black I thought they were entering some dungeon with hostile creatures not trapped animals. Flutty's animal expert stuff helped again.

 

Spoiler

 

Then there he is... Tire, not as threatening as he looked when he consumed magic. The resolution was lame imo... really Pinkie driving him crazy is what makes him give them some magic, or whatever happened? Wasnt he or the others unable to use magic?

Spoiler

 

Then Neighsay locks the student - IF HE WERE behind all this, he has the power, the knowledge, it would be believable.... COzy... I still can't believe they gave her so much credit in the episode. Unpredictable because it doesn't make sense, not a good idea IMO.

The CMCs to the rescue, well im glad they were used here, made them feel somewhat useful.

I love the 'What lies beneath' continuity. Did the tree lose magic too? 

 

Spoiler

 

This scene with Starlight, I would think only Chrysalis is capable, which is why I couldn't believe she is not Chrys.

 

Spoiler

 

Neighsay is actually a strict member of the edu council but serving the side of good? I'm surprised but not disappointed. I liked his reformation. I never cared if he is a villain or not, what could he possibly do other than try to create school rules, not like stealing magic like Tirek.

I mean really, if there is something that pulls the episode for me it is THIS:

 

Spoiler

 

(IM THE LIL KIDDO THAT TURNS THE WHOLE WORLD, EQUESTRIA UPSIDE DOWN).... "RIGHT" I've seen other shows where the villain could be some kiddo but the episode of that show was not serious.

And in the final scene... find it hard that the students would fall for Cozy she was not even believable about the School 6 stealing magic'. And then the tree saves the day. it still had magic?

 

Spoiler

 

So yeah, reformation by Neighsey, I dont mind it, it shows how even the stubborn heads could start thinking rationally. I  never minded him as I said, never saw him as a must-be villain.

 

Plot twist.... Cozy transforms to Chrysalis, wanted to unite with Tirek? Now that would be a villain combo that hasnt been done and needs to be but whatever. That is the end of Season 8. Looking for that movie but if it will not be a high stakes one like the MLP Movie and just a 2hr 'Hearthwarming Eve' might not be my taste.

 

[Ganondorf8 11,118]

We once again figured that when it comes to subtlety, the writers aren't very good at it. We knew Cozy Glow was up to something as her mannerisms in her recent appearances hinted that she was planning something big. We also knew Lord Tirek was going to be involved as his voice actor stated as such in a tweet prior to season eight beginning. Also, the episode summaries for the entire season were known ahead of time so in a way, we knew what was going to happen long before it would. I know that this isn't an issue for young fans and the intended ones, but for older fans, this does ruin the charm because you're not guaranteed any surprises. Compared to previous finales, School Raze does take a safe route in that there is no actual battle between the forces of good and evil, and does choose to utilize a familiar mainstay whose presence was know ahead of time.

Lord Tirek's return is magnificent despite him being a shell of what he once was. It didn't take long to figure out that he was indirectly responsible for Cozy Glow's actions though what they should've done was provide a scene where the two sent messages to one another and maybe explain more of Cozy's backstory. Even though he ended up doing something for the greater good, he hasn't reformed which is good because we don't need every villain to change their ways. When you think about it, Tirek's method of having Cozy as a protégé was unexpected but again they didn't really do much in terms of explaining why. I know they have only forty-four minutes to cover everything but perhaps some of the Tartarus scenes could've been shortened or even omitted in order to provide some backstory. No doubt in my mind that Tirek has something in mind for the future as I doubt this setback will deter him.

Cozy Glow... On the one hand, having a non-unicorn and a filly as the main villain is different because it deviates from the norm, but in terms of being effective, I'd say that Cozy really missed the mark. Her reasoning for doing what she did was petty at best but I will give her props for wanting to use friendship as a source of power. In a sense, she didn't really get to do much of anything other than using her words and charm in order to seize power. Had she been given more of a presence, I'd say she could've become a tremendous threat but again those scenes in Tartarus took away what could have been. She comes off as merely having a temper tantrum because she didn't get her way. Her plan--or Tirek's depending on how you look at it--had a few keys flaws that neither of them figured would be an issue. Compared to other villains, Cozy Glow does have some advantages over them in terms of how evil they are but then she also has disadvantages which brought her down.

And of course, we needed someone to be reformed and Chancellor Neighsay turned out to be the one. Honestly, his reformation was rushed much like previous ones we've seen, and at times it just didn't feel genuine that he was willing to apologize for what he had said about non-ponies--ironic that it took a bad pony to get him to realize this. That time constraint has really become a detriment as of late and it's a shame that it happened here as well. Neighsay should've been at least stripped of his position as head of the EEA until he had understood what it meant to appreciate and accept other creatures. His change would've been more believable and given him some much needed positive reinforcement. I think Neighsay has got a lot of apologizing in his future to the other kingdoms that he once verbally insulted. Still, he came to the realization that Twilight's school was exactly what Equestria needed so now he won't be causing issues for it. On a side note, I thought Cozy Glow was working with him until I remembered Tirek's involvement.

I think it was pretty obvious as well that the Student Six would save the day. I mean, it was blatant given how much development they received throughout the second half of the season in addition to removing the Mane Six and Starlight from the picture to give them their chance. I know many won't be happy with the fact that the central characters were shafted once again but then this was expected given what we knew coming into this finale. At least Celestia and Luna were captured or anything this time around so that's a plus right there. I mean, you could tell that the students would be the ones to succeed. The Tree of Harmony has chosen them to carry on its legacy through use of the magical artefacts that Cozy Glow was using to drain the magic from Equestria. While I was happy that the Mane Six weren't completely removed given their misadventures in Tartarus, the fact that they were removed to make room for others is sure to cause another debate and not too soon from now. Lastly, the CMC were completely unnecessary as they didn't get to do anything other than interact with Cozy before being written out until the very end.

Overall, I have to give this finale 88%. It was handled well but not as well as some previous finales which featured much higher stakes. Some predictability and lack of information among other things brought it down.

[rainbowdashacademy 114]

Cozy Glow is just like that Judas Priest  "DEVIL'S CHILD"  song sums her up what corrupted innocent bitch she thinks she is?  I was right about my theory about her she's just as evil as the Sirens but would it be creepier if she sung a song called "I'M STEALING ALL YOUR MAGIC AND I DON'T CARE"!

[gingerninja666 487]

Having rewatched the finale. The term I would use to describe Cozy is "Raw potential".

 

That's how she feels to me. She's a child who has the special talent of being a highly intelligent schemer, but her end goals aren't fully formed yet. She's rough around the edges. So she has a plan, and is excellent at executing it, but the plan itself is childish and dumb and shortsighted. She's driven by a dark heart and an insultingly childish philosophy that More friends = More power = I'm the best. She's dangerous in that her insane scheming, even in this raw form, almost ruined the world, not that she could've ever actually succeeded at becoming the Empress of Friendship.

 

She's someone who, a few years from now when she's had time to mature and refine what exactly she wants, could be absolutely terrifying.

[Dark Qiviut 22,173]

3 hours ago, JH24 said:

One thing isn't entirely clear to me. Would the magic have disappeared forever?

Yes. Star Swirl suspected it in his warning to Celestia, and Cozy Glow said the same.

2 hours ago, ShootingStar159 said:

Seriously, her plan involved having the most friends in Equestria, but how many friends had she really made?

Going by how big the School's populous is, quite a lot. During the episode, she stayed true to the values taught by Twilight's curriculum, such as helping other people's homework, complimenting Derpy, directing a new student her first class, and going beyond the call of duty to help Twilight and the others. She literally embodied the MoF above her façade. Under Twilight's name, she successfully generated a mob to tie Neighsay up.

2 hours ago, ShootingStar159 said:

Her plan would have destroyed Equestria, and even if the main six hadn’t escaped, it still relied on the entire, now devastated, nation listening to and taking seriously, a (indeterminate age) filly.

With all of magic destroyed, the royal sisters, Cadance, and Twilight won't be able to rule properly, putting everyone at a level of "magic" equal to her, whose talent is nothing more than a mere skill. With them powerless to reclaim it, folks will come to her for guidance, who'll use their desperation and connection with her to manipulate them, set up a coup, and overthrow them. She successfully created a mob, and she has the skill to manipulate even more.

[Nye 1,652]

My initial thoughts. 

Spoiler

“Yona not scared... Ahhhh!” Yona No!!!

 

[Nye 1,652]

Final thoughts

Spoiler

Cozy Glow might just be the most evil villain we have ever had on the show. Mentally evil I should say. She honestly freaked me out in some scenes. That was true and complete lack of any remorse.

 

[heavens-champion 1,893]

Well, it's Season Six  all over again. I pretty much skipped the finale.

[bwrosas 252]

 

Well, I said My Piece in video form which you can find over at the Video Fan Art section here at the Forms.  But overall, I will say that, for the way Cozy Glow acted, (No offense), but there's this part of me, that thinks she's older than she looks, in fact, when we piece together some parts of the finale, it makes you wonder. 

I mean, like how did Starswirl know how the spell would work, and how did Cozy Glow know how to cast it (even with Tirek's help).  I think Starswirl knows who Cozy Glow is, because Cozy May have been his very first student from over 1'000 years ago, even before taking Celestia and Luna under his teachings 

Hear me out, I believe,  she maybe a full grown Pegasus trapped in a filly's body, due to a spell that she was planning to use on all of Equestria, and it backfired on her, when StarSwirl and the other pillars came to stop her, the backfire spell turned her into a filly for as long as it must, till the spell is reversed to change her back.

But that's just a theory, that may have more truth than you think to it. But what are your thoughts?

Edited October 14, 2018 by bwrosas

[bwrosas 252]

Overall the finale was pretty decent. There were some funny moments, from Starlight's sarcasm, to Rarity's "Woah", there were very light-hearted moments.  Also, it was nice to see Cadance there at the meeting as well.And I will say, that things really picked up in the 2nd and 3rd act of Part 1 and really picked up in the 2nd part. 

As far as Cozy Glow goes, as a villain, she was exactly what was needed.  A villain, that even in the moment was able to stay one step ahead, except when she disrespected the Tree of Harmony.Now as far as punishment, Some may agree with it and some will not.  But let's be honest, yes Starlight and Tempest did things that deserve a sentience to Pony Alcatraz. 

But question, did they attempt murder on several occasions and not give a darn, some will say "yes" and that's fine.  But were they willing to give friendship a second chance. The answer is yes. Especially when you understood their backstories.  But what about Cozy? 

Well let's see, she mocked what the elements were about, was going to let the Young Six and Starlight die, heck she was already technically killing Starlight by having her kept in that orb, tricked the Mane 6 and Spike into traveling into Tatruas and trapping them there., Drained all the Magic from Equestria, then try to escape to another school to continue her plan, and through all that, not once did she give a flying F*** about anyone but herself. So yeah, I'd say she got what she deserved in the end.

Overall, again as I said, a pretty decent finale. What you say?