What kind of conclusion would you give to Neighsay's character?

[JH24 385]

After watching Friendship University and re-watching School Daze I found myself surprised when I realized I'd become more interested in Neighsay's character. So far he comes across as one-dimensional. His convictions are wrong, but there's a lot of potential to convey a powerful message about racism and prejudice.

He's probably one of the most hated characters in the fandom (with good reason) but what do you hope to see with his character? How would you want things to end for him? Does he deserve a shot at redemption? Or would the darkest prison still be too good for him? 

On a sidenote, I love Maurice LaMarche's rol as Neighsay. He really brings the character to life. 

(Added spoiler tag just to be safe)

 

Edited August 17, 2018 by JH24

[cmarston1 5,951]

What I would like would be for him to not be redeemed and instead have him fired from the EEA.

I would also like to see massive changes to occur within the EEA as well, because honestly seeing him get fired, and the organization he got fired from reforming seems like a pretty fitting end for him.

Edited August 17, 2018 by cmarston1

[YoshiAngemon 223]

7 minutes ago, cmarston1 said:

What I would like would be for him to not be redeemed and instead have him fired from the EEA.

I would also like to see massive changes to occur within the EEA as well, because honestly seeing him get fired, and the organization he got fired from reforming seems like a pretty fitting end for him.

Agreed, but also have Tirek suck his magic out so he won't be a major threat! Maybe throw him in Tartarus, as well, so he can suffer the irony of "PONIES LAST!" in Tartarus!

[Castle Bleck 19,167]

For him to finally hear these words:

 

 

[JH24 385]

14 hours ago, cmarston1 said:

What I would like would be for him to not be redeemed and instead have him fired from the EEA.

I would also like to see massive changes to occur within the EEA as well, because honestly seeing him get fired, and the organization he got fired from reforming seems like a pretty fitting end for him.

Agreed, Neighsay may be only a part of the problem. It would be fitting if the EEA changes their policy and make education available to everyone. It would be a total defeat of Neighsay and his convictions.

He deserves to be fired after abusing his power in "Friendship University." 

===

On the other hand, I can't shake the feeling there might be something in having Neighsay reformed. The message about racism and prejudice could be more powerful if Neighsay himself admits he was wrong.

It would be kind of ironic if the Student 6 - those same "creatures" he kept degrading and insulting - are the ones to make him realize he had been wrong all this time.

Edited August 18, 2018 by JH24

[Sunlight Glisten 368]

He welds some powerful magic and has a lot of loyal followers that believe in his pony first cause. 

Possibly a coop agents celestia, he has already begun discrediting her leadership in school daze. 

After a close call but failed coop he is banished to yak yakistan to learn friendship by brute force. 

Or maybe the coop success for a time and we have a little Harry potter moment like when Dumbledore was ousted.  

Twilight celestias secret resistance club. Lead by sandbar????

[Jeric 46,834]

Fired and career ended in disgrace is what I would prefer, however I expect that his scheming will place him in a position where his life is in jeopardy and the Student Six will ultimately put their lives on the line to save him, providing the catalyst for a change of heart. That is what I suspect the show will go for. He may then take the Starswirl path of a Friendship pilgrimage, and want to spend time in the non-pony kingdoms to learn more about each culture  I have to account for the fact that this show takes every opportunity to teach kids that the misguided can be reasoned with and become an ally or friend.  

[Goat-kun 2,498]

I don't care that he's a racist. I do care that he uses his position to promote his philosophy. Fired, restrained, and jailed would be a proper punishment. Would I want to forcefully change his mind?  Nope. It's fine as long as he serves his sentence and abides by the law afterwards.

 

But we're talking about FIM here, so of course the current of causality will forcefully change his mind via some unpredictable event. Having the "wrong" opinion in FIM is like having the brand of sacrifice.

 

Whoa, did Goat-kun just put wrong in quotes in regards to racism! Well, it does get lumped with all the other completely normal opinions that are deemed wrong by ToH. Judge me!

Edited August 18, 2018 by Goat-kun
Ethanol

[Thrond 3,257]

The show seems to be using him mostly to convey some obvious themes rather than for a deep character arc, so I think the best conclusion for its tone and themes would be that he's fired and replaced by someone without his prejudices. 

[Steve Piranha 28,778]

I’d like have him legal consequences and recognizing his wrongdoings, as I’d prefer Cozy to be the villain. The synopsis mention Cozy’s plans, while Neighsay is not mentioned

Spoiler

If one pict of a statue of Cozy over Tirek is of any indication, she may be the actual villain

 

[Singe 2,109]

Neighsay would have to be punished if he's abusing his power using underhanded methods to shut down Twilight's school. However, he shouldn't be punished for his own opinion. Instead his beliefs would have to be proven wrong where ponies should no longer have to fear other creatures like the Yaks, Dragons, and Changelings who have shown hostility to ponies in the past seasons.

Edited August 19, 2018 by Singe