S08:E25+26 - School Raze

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,151]

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

[Here No Longer 5,270]

I'll just spoiler this out.

This was definitely not an exceptional finale. I didn't know what to think of it going in, but as of now I'd say a bit mediocre.

 

The Good

• The Student Six were great here. Here the one who shined the brightest was Sandbar. He stayed in the school and sacrificed his friend's companionship and a small of his morality to save the whole of Equestria, and that is quite honorable to say the least.
• I really like the way Neighsay's redemption was handled. Sure, it may have been a bit sudden, but it was done... believably., I think.

 

The Bad

• Cozy Glow was better as a villain than I thought, but I was still far from impressed. She was a bit cunning, but otherwise, totally bland. She just seemed really... generic and run of the mill to me. Nothing special, just... a villain with a lust for power who is totally malignant towards others and tries to fit in.
• The pacing was really, really slow. This was really noticeable early in the second part, when it just felt like a total drag. They could have fit much more in.
• ...? Where's the Tree in all of this?  Not a single thing involving the Tree here at all, even with What Lies Beneath hinting a role here.

The problems with this finale to me exceed the merits it has. About a 6/10 in my book.

 

 

[YoshiAngemon 223]

I'll be glad when this season is over. It's been one tough episode after another, and yet I'm gonna end up going Donald-Duck-Mad at some of the stuff. I'm looking forward to Season 2 of DuckTales, next Saturday.

[gingerninja666 487]

11 hours ago, ~Dusky~ said:

I'll just spoiler this out.

 

  Hide contents

 

This was definitely not an exceptional finale. I didn't know what to think of it going in, but as of now I'd say a bit mediocre.

 

The Good

• The Student Six were great here. Here the one who shined the brightest was Sandbar. He stayed in the school and sacrificed his friend's companionship and a small of his morality to save the whole of Equestria, and that is quite honorable to say the least.
• I really like the way Neighsay's redemption was handled. Sure, it may have been a bit sudden, but it was done... believably., I think.

 

The Bad

• Cozy Glow was better as a villain than I thought, but I was still far from impressed. She was a bit cunning, but otherwise, totally bland. She just seemed really... generic and run of the mill to me. Nothing special, just... a villain with a lust for power who is totally malignant towards others and tries to fit in.
• The pacing was really, really slow. This was really noticeable early in the second part, when it just felt like a total drag. They could have fit much more in.
• ...? Where's the Tree in all of this?  Not a single thing involving the Tree here at all, even with What Lies Beneath hinting a role here.

The problems with this finale to me exceed the merits it has. About a 6/10 in my book.

 

 

 

 

Spoiler

I thought the tree was what saved them at the end.

I think my problem with the finale is the Mane 6 subplot. I kinda felt like they didn't need much of a role after part 1. The stuff with Tirek I liked because it kinda builds up to the Cozy reveal . But after that, they're stuck and have no impact on the rest of the story, so we didn't really need to see them trying to escape. That time could've gone to Cozy and the students and NEighsay. It's like they didn't want to completely sideline the mane 6 like in To Where and Back again, but I kinda feel they should've.

 

[Here No Longer 5,270]

Just now, gingerninja666 said:

  Hide contents

I thought the tree was what saved them at the end.

I think my problem with the finale is the Mane 6 subplot. I kinda felt like they didn't need much of a role after part 1. The stuff with Tirek I liked because it kinda builds up to the Cozy reveal . But after that, they're stuck and have no impact on the rest of the story, so we didn't really need to see them trying to escape. That time could've gone to Cozy and the students and NEighsay. It's like they didn't want to completely sideline the mane 6 like in To Where and Back again, but I kinda feel they should've.

 

I didn't notice that when I watched it, but now that I think about it... Maybe the Tree did...

That subplot contributed a lot to the pacing problem, but even if they got rid of it, the story would have still been way, way too slow for me. Seriously, I felt like they could have gotten rid of the Mane 6 subplot, made it a one-parter, and it would have worked a lot better. The Tirek reveal wouldn't have been necessary, and everything would still have worked.

 

 

 

[TheAnimationFanatic 3,543]

Well, you can't please everyone.

I imagine that this will be among the most heavily discussed finales.

[JH24 385]

Couldn't resist watching the finale back then. I'm looking forward to watch it again. It's not perfect, and some parts were disappointing.

 

Mostly the Mane 6 trying to escape Tartarus; it felt like filler. Tartarus itself was underwhelming too.

But for me personally the scenes with

 

the Student 6

 were well done. I'm still surprised

 

how likeable I find them now. I really was skeptical about the whole concept at the start of the season.

Edited October 13, 2018 by JH24

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,151]

It's time deeries! Finale is here!!!

[Batbrony 15,994]

Very interesting conundrum presented here, and I can't wait to see what Tartarus looks like after all this time!

[YoshiAngemon 223]

Fuck this Finale shit! I'm watching Goof Troop! I hate Trump-sized racism in My Little Pony. I want FlashLight Romance in Season 9! I blame @SaburoDaimando for this!

Edited October 13, 2018 by YoshiAngemon

[Batbrony 15,994]

OK, what did that pint-sized little turd do to Glim-Glam???   And I swear she's probably trying to get the Mane 6 stuck in Tartarus too.

More intriguingly, it would appear that Cozy and Neighsay do not, surprisingly, have the same agenda, which I kinda like.  It would be easy, narratively speaking, to just have Cozy Glow be a lackey of his, but I get the distinct feeling that's not what's going on.

[ggg-2 3,550]

Hannibal Lecter reference, y'know FOR KIDS! And oh yeah, for a filly, Cozy's a crazy bitch.

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,151]

I know she's a major villain and all...but I just LOVE how Cozy turns the tables on Neighsay. Brings a smile to the face.

[Batbrony 15,994]

It's the faceoff of the century, Pint-Sized Turd vs. Chancellor McRacist.

[YoshiAngemon 223]

Heartless. That's all I can say about Cozy Glow. And it's good that Neighsay has been reformed.

[Batbrony 15,994]

Well, that ending was terrifying.  But, at least Chancellor McRacist isn't a racist anymore. 

All around, hardly the best season finale ever, but it was still very entertaining and wrapped up Season 8 quite nicely.

[cmarston1 5,951]

Hard to believe that the season is already over, it seems like it came and went pretty fast.  While not one of my favorite seasons, there were a decent amount of episodes that I really liked.  Plus I did like the idea of a friendship school, and I wouldn't mind seeing it be expanded upon next season.  With that out of the way, what did I think of School Raze?  I thought it was a pretty solid finale.  Cozy Glow was a great antagonist and I am so glad that she actually faced consequences to her actions instead of getting reformed, the episode used a lot of characters without feeling too cluttered, and even if I didn't want it, Neighsay's reformation was tolerable enough/better than some others we have had in the show.  Over all I rather enjoyed School Raze.

[jorge123esp 912]

Well, season 8 is over. And this season finale was... I think fine, but I'm mainly shocked about Cozy Glow. I already knew she would be the main villain, but I didn't expect she would be so FREAKING EVIL. Probably one of the most intelligent and smartest villains of MLP ever (with Starlight Glimmer probably). 

Now, let's wait to season 9. Overall, I think this season was "ok". Not bad, but not as good as season 7 at all (imo).

Edited October 13, 2018 by jorge123esp

[Buttonmash1973 1,024]

What a year of leaks, early releases and G5 panic it has been.

[YoshiAngemon 223]

I'd rather have Flash Sentry become the Head Guard of The Castle of Friendship, next season, so he'll be PRINCE Flash Sentry by Finale's End. I think I'm gonna be in trouble for the profanity, earlier. I'll look forward to singing this, next week:
 

Tales of derring bad and good, not Pony Tales, or Cottontails, no DUCKTALES! WOO-OO!

Edited October 13, 2018 by YoshiAngemon

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,151]

Honestly; this is actually my third time watching it and it's actually grown on me more even after initially liking it. I mean, it's no Shadow Play or To There and Back Again, but it's solid overall. Cozy Glow was actually a great villain, and I liked how all the characters were utilized...well; aside from the CMC being locked in the closet.

And what about Tirek? Still as dastardly as usuall; and back to his manipulative self...though Pinkie Pie is his worst nightmare is seems. XD

Overall; solid!

[Wingnut 6,730]

I was less than impressed. Season 8 seemed less like the MLP I know and love and more like a back door pilot for a new series starring the student six. Needless to say, The finale only cemented that sentiment. With this major transition, maybe season 9 should be considered season 1 of a new series. 

Maybe these episodes will grow on me over time. But the first time watching it felt kind of flat. 

[StitchandMLPlover 930]

I only saw portions of part 2 of the finale when it came out in other countries but I loved the continuity in what I did see back then and I still love it now along with part 1 which I saw today. I liked that they brought back the cloud walking spell.  Turns out Cozy Glow, not Naysay, is the one who is the evil power hungry racist which was foreshadowed beautifully in "What Lies Beneath" without giving too much away. I was so relieved when I saw that Cozy was the villain because I swear if Naysay had turned out to be the boring, one note, stereotype, angry racist I thought the MLP writers were originally going for in "Friendship University" I would have been so pissed and disappointed on so many levels. This finale does a tremendous job of showing Naysay to be "human" and flawed and it was a great lesson in how the greatest threat can come from within from those you think are good, and those you think "look like you", rather than just the outsider who looks different on an external level. I'v  almost never seen racism tackled in media this way so that was so exciting for me. MLP writers also managed to give the young 6 actual personality and wrote them in a way that made us invested in them because they were strong yet flawed like the Mane 6(though way less developed because they have only been around for a single season) which was so refreshing because in so many stories about racism the minority character comes across almost Mary Sue like so we have to pity them when they are bullied and experience racism. I liked the hint that Pinkie Pie has magic. This finale surprised me in all the right ways. The things I didn't like were how slow some of the sequences in Tartarus seemed to be and I didn't like how it was never explained why all creatures seem to be losing magic yet pegasus ponies can still fly and the sun and the moon can move? That makes no sense. It seems the tree still has some magic when it rescues the young 6 so why didn't the tree alert the mane 6 with the map that the threat was in the school and not Tartarus??? 

[Dark Qiviut 22,173]

And thus concludes the show's second-best season! Starlight was the show's best villain, but Cozy takes over. Everything she does is calculating. Manipulative to the core, cunning, intelligent, competent. She knew what she was doing at every corner; if it weren't for the Tree, she would've successfully destroyed all of Equestria's magic.

What makes her plan genius? Cozy understands the magic of friendship, but warps it to her benefit. By becoming friends with so many ponies, they can come to her during a time of crisis. With magic gone, Celestia, Luna, and Cadance can't lead their kingdoms. By establishing connections and luring the RM7 into Tartarus with no way out, she can take advantage of them, start a mob, and lead a revolt with her overthrowing them.

And her punishment fits the crime. Their justice system's unlike our own: Remorse and second chances are primary in Equestria. Discord, Starlight, and Stygian were repentant for their actions. Cozy, OTOH, wasn't simply remorseless. She doubled down on her plan; if she escaped, she would've restarted this spell.

[JH24 385]

29 minutes ago, Dark Qiviut said:

And thus concludes the show's second-best season! Starlight was the show's best villain, but Cozy takes over. Everything she does is calculating. Manipulative to the core, cunning, intelligent, competent. She knew what she was doing at every corner; if it weren't for the Tree, she would've successfully destroyed all of Equestria's magic.

What makes her plan genius? Cozy understands the magic of friendship, but warps it to her benefit. By becoming friends with so many ponies, they can come to her during a time of crisis. With magic gone, Celestia, Luna, and Cadance can't lead their kingdoms. By establishing connections and luring the RM7 into Tartarus with no way out, she can take advantage of them, start a mob, and lead a revolt with her overthrowing them.

And her punishment fits the crime. Their justice system's unlike our own: Remorse and second chances are primary in Equestria. Discord, Starlight, and Stygian were repentant for their actions. Cozy, OTOH, wasn't simply remorseless. She doubled down on her plan; if she escaped, she would've restarted this spell.

This wonderfully worded summary describes perfectly for me why I like this finale, despite some of the weaker scenes.

Cozy's portrayal and doubling down on her ideals and goals were perfect. She had no magical power yet she was so close in becoming the ruler of Equestria. And because everyone would have been dependent for their survival on Cozy's new powers she would be able to rule unopposed.

I also liked how the Tree of Harmony came back into this. Both the Student 6 and Cozy had opposite views of friendship and in the end Cozy's views lost. If the Student 6 hadn't become "one" during "What lies beneath" the Tree of Harmony might not have been able to help.

Edited October 13, 2018 by JH24