S09:E01+E02 - The Beginning of the End

[PacificGreen 1,163]

Glad to see Celestia and Luna being useful again.  

All jokes aside, I thought it was pretty cool that they brought in some reinforcements in the form of the Princesses, Discord and even Starswirl. No surprises here, but this was probably the highest stakes premiere in the whole show, what with friends and family being enslaved.

[Shadowking58 1,136]

So I went and made some memes.

 

 

 

[PacificGreen 1,163]

2 hours ago, Ganondox said:

6. Lastly, why could the mane six invoke the power of the elements without the physical objects in this case, but not others? It appears that the spirit of the tree survived even though it's body was destroyed, and it then entered Twilight, notice the resemblance during her attack on Sombra. This also fits back with the series premiere, as the destruction of the previous physical form freed their essence so they could be reborn again. We're certainly going to get more information on this next episode, one of the teasers showed the student six being imbued with the powers of the elements. 

This is a good point. The climactic realization in this episode seemed to pretty suspiciously echo the moral in the Season 4 premiere, with the main difference being that the physical Elements in this episode literally served no purpose in the second half. Honestly, I feel like the whole "you can take away the Elements but you can't take away our friendship" would have been a given by now; it was a bit surprising it took the Mane 6 until the end of the episode to use that against Sombra. But really I think that was my only gripe with this premiere.

The show does seem to be pretty inconsistent with regards to how the power of the Elements actually works; going a bit off-topic here, but while I'm personally not very hyped for G5, a lot of people mention consistency with how the world works as an issue that could be improved in G5; it's something fans have been hoping G5 will improve on when it comes. 

[Solar Power 235]

Just watched it. Fantastic stuff - funny, tense and exciting. We fans were really spoiled with all the appearances of villains and allies from the show's history. It was probably my favourite season opener.

[Misty Shadow 7,084]

1 hour ago, Ganondox said:

Oh yes, being an immortal shadow creature is why he needed Grogar to revive him...

None of the dialogue in the show directly states that he is or ever was dead. For a long time, fans speculated that the only way Sombra could still be alive was because of his horn...which has now been confirmed to be false, as Grogar did not need Sombra's remains to revive him, only a spell to call him back from the darkness. This makes it clear that Sombra does not actually die upon being killed, he just returns to the darkness from whence he came until he is called forth again. 

[Castle Bleck 19,166]

2 minutes ago, CloudMistDragon said:

he just returns to the darkness from whence he came until he is called forth again. 

I wonder if he's met Mario in there:

Edited April 7, 2019 by A.V.

[Sparklefan1234 161,853]

4 hours ago, TheTaZe said:

Gotcha covered

 

That was awesome!  

On a similar note, King Sombra felt like the first boss in a video game to me so, I'm guessing future challenges will be a lot more difficult for the Mane 6. 

[Castle Bleck 19,166]

Just now, Sparklefan1234 said:

King Sombra felt like the first boss in a video game to me so,

At least he put up a much-better fight than in Adventure Ponies 2.

[oregon 170]

“What if something big happens and the princesses aren’t there to help!?”

“They literally almost never help.”

“Huh.”

Edited April 7, 2019 by oregon

[Kevin 160]

Well in the words of Pinkie: "That was **amazing**!

No, really, this was one of the best if not the best season premieres yet! I loved the set up for "the League of Villains vs The Elements of Harmony League" I can tell this is going to quite a season-long arc and it's really going to set up for one big showdown come the series finale!

"I'm just a kid", "Twilighting", Discord's antics all made for some really funny moments and I love how self-aware things got.

It's great to Gorgar return (as rumored) and the dynamic between Chrysalis and Cozy Glow was great and I hope to see be developed further.

With a strong start like this, I can't wait to see how the rest of the season plays out!

[AlbaTross 1,581]

57 minutes ago, This Whomps said:

It's been a while since I enjoyed a premiere this much. Admittedly the pacing was really quick but that's my only negative. The rest was just the Mane 6 getting to be awesome as a group and the villains getting to be their own kind of goofy antics(especially Tirek, Cozy and Chrysalis), and Sombra was delightfully hammy and corny

 

Also RIP Seige of the Crystal Empire, no one will miss you

Eh...after seeing this I choose to believe the flimsy premise that Sombra the pony and Sombra the Umbrum ceased to be the same being when the former was pulled from a sphere of dark mass by undefined magic, but it is contrived, and it's understandable if someone would choose to just disregard that particular comic arc, especially given that it is a mixed bag anyways.  I was going to wait and see if the premier debunked even that flimsy thread, but it's still there.

In any case, I really enjoyed this season premier, and love that a bunch of villains have teamed up.  Actually, this is something I've been wanting to see for quite a few years now.  I envisioned it as Chryssy busting Tirek out of Tartarus, but I didn't consider a new villain stepping in.  That actually applies even to Cozy Glow from last season's finale, but you know what, I like what we actually ended up getting.  TBH I also didn't consider it as a plot thread for an entire season either, and more of just a season finale type thing.  I like that all these villains are lurking in the background all season, and that could lend itself really well to a mid-season finale in addition to the series finale (which may make me a little misty-eyed).  Oh, and the fact that Sombra won for a time, and the deus ex friendship felt a little less forced than usual are all positives for me.  

[oregon 170]

I like how talkative Sombra was. Finally, after all these years.

[Ganondox 899]

31 minutes ago, CloudMistDragon said:

None of the dialogue in the show directly states that he is or ever was dead. For a long time, fans speculated that the only way Sombra could still be alive was because of his horn...which has now been confirmed to be false, as Grogar did not need Sombra's remains to revive him, only a spell to call him back from the darkness. This makes it clear that Sombra does not actually die upon being killed, he just returns to the darkness from whence he came until he is called forth again. 

Of course they didn’t, ever heard of never say die? “Return to the darkness” is a euphemism for death. 

[Misty Shadow 7,084]

1 minute ago, Ganondox said:

Of course they didn’t, ever heard of never say die? “Return to the darkness” is a euphemism for death. 

But he is darkness, not a being of flesh and blood.  You can't kill a shadow. 

[oregon 170]

Wow. At first I felt like the conflict of the episode went way too quickly. I’m glad Sombra came back at the end. 

The first episode almost felt like a parody. The conflict happened quickly and was resolved quickly through the power of magic and rainbows, and it felt like the characters didn’t really do anything. But now that they twisted that format and had the mane six fail, I’m excited to see what they come up with in the second part.

[oregon 170]

Aww Twily nooo

Actually, this could be a meme format

[Tacodidra 59,792]

This was definitely an amazing start to the new season and made my expectations for season 9 even higher! As much as I love this show, somehow I never quite expect something this great! I guess this calls for a review of sorts, something I haven't done in almost half a season!

Seeing all those villains return was great, I enjoyed Sombra's appearance a lot more than his first one (he wasn't among my favorite villains in MLP earlier). The others had a smaller role this time, but it was nice to see Grogar for the first time. Cozy Glow acting like a normal filly at times was fun (and I've always liked how that contrasts with her villain side), and I also found Chrysalis' reaction to her telling her to say something positive about ponies hilarious! The chemistry between the villains was definitely something entertaining!

Getting away from the villains, I thought the episode plot was very interesting in general. Celestia and Luna retiring sets an interesting tone for the last season – seeing how Twilight and her friends cope with this, other than her typical twilighting (), will be fascinating – and it would be interesting to see Starlight in her new role too (which I'm pretty sure will happen at some point). The Mane 6 were great in this episode, I have to give a special mention to Pinkie. In spite of her being my favorite pony in the early seasons, I feel her recent portrayal has been slightly hit and miss. Not this time – they showed her being the adorable, cheerful pony she is (and touchingly, also her temporarily losing that personality), even including some of her typical randomness (the cakewalk), without making her annoying at any point.

The emotional moments were easily the highlight of the episode for me. I'll readily admit Discord's speech made me cry – in all its simplicity, somehow it became one of the most effective scenes in the whole series. As for the negatives, maybe it's in part because of the show finally being back after a hiatus, but I can't really think of any. Besides maybe the lack of a new intro (it would have been fitting for a final season), but maybe we'll get one for episode 3, like we did last season. This episode deserves a rare 10 out of 10 – if the rest of the season is anywhere near this good, it will definitely be one of the all-time best!

Edited April 7, 2019 by Tacodidra

[Jeric 46,834]

1 hour ago, Shadowking58 said:

So I went and made some memes.

 

 

 

Amusingly part of that rune means Horse.

[YoshiAngemon 223]

Honestly, I was hoping Pinkie Pie would've said "ELEMENTS? WE DON'T NEED NO STINKIN' ELEMENTS!" to reference the Treasure of the Sierra Madre. But what happened also brought up the final moments of Ninja Storm:

"We may not be Power Rangers, but we still got Power! POWER OF AIR!" "POWER OF EARTH!" "POWER OF WATER!" "NINJA POWERS!"

[Jeric 46,834]

20 minutes ago, CloudMistDragon said:

But he is darkness, not a being of flesh and blood.  You can't kill a shadow. 

I do agree that because Grogar is known as a necromancer this was supposed to be a reference to Sombra’s resurrection. Now that Tartarus is basically a super magical jail, we have several ethereal realms that may or may not be the same thing. Limbo, whatever that dimension Cozy Glow accessed, and wherever Sombra was. It could be a variation of an afterlife since we really don’t know much about where things go when they die in this show. 

[oregon 170]

Sombra reminds me of Plankton from the first Spongebob movie.

[Ganondox 899]

20 minutes ago, CloudMistDragon said:

But he is darkness, not a being of flesh and blood.  You can't kill a shadow. 

Sure you can, you shine a light on it.

Anyway, your theorizing is completely irrelevant. The point is it’s clearly possible to take Sombra out of the picture whether he technically dies or not, it’s what the Crystal Heart did, and it’s what the second blast of harmony did, but apparently not the first. 

[oregon 170]

Alright I should get back to watching the pony show now

[ImpctR 155]

Back to MLP.!

I was making sure to skip any spoilers, this is my first interaction with anything MLP since the end of last year. This time not even the summary in this thread, and oh my gosh... this premiere is BREATHTAKING! OUTSTANDING! Yes!  So much YES! That's what I was expecting to see at some point in the future and IT HAPPENED!

 

So let's break it into parts:

The beginning & Part 1

Having not read any spoilers nor posts, so this is my impression entirely, I did not imagine that the Two Sisters Luna and Celestia would ever give their position to the Mane 6, so this was unexpected but at the same time, I did not expect the episode would continue with what it did. It looked like School Daze a bit, sure a bit of a conflict around something new in this case Twilight becoming the new ruler of Equestria with typical Twilight in panic, asking Starlight to run the school for her and the Mane 6 etc, then I was like 'This happened couple of times'.

 

Questions I had in my mind before Season 9 - I did not care if Chancellor Neighsay was going to appear again or not, nor his followup but rather:

Is Queen Chrysalis going to ally forces with Tirek and Cozy Glow?

What of Cozy Glow and Tirek, are we going to see what happens from the beginning of the season OR

It would be like the initially expected, some problem around Twi's organization and that for two parts. 

But it went beyond that with a NEW VILLAIN and I would say, great idea! It seems he is as legendary as Starswirl, that Grogar! Now, I expected a bit more evil look from the mastermind maybe something as evil and scary as Celestia's evil version from A Royal Problem which by the way was referenced here!

 

Spoiler

 

 

Chrysalis left where she was last seen in the Mean 6:

Spoiler

 

And so when the villains started disappearing I thought Tirek used a long hidden spell to teleport himself and Cozy Glow out, this was unexpected and so good!

 

Spoiler

 

And then King Sombra's enslaving the Crystal Empire, in a much more powerful and dramatic way, this made it such a strong episode!

 

Spoiler

 

 

Here is the reference to the evil versions of the two sisters, amazing to have that reference!

Spoiler

 

Then they defeat King Sombra the same way they defeated Tirek in Twilight's KIngdom, using the power of the elements. But the end of the episode... 

 

Part 2

The Tree of Harmony, the Spirit, good episodes and stories unfortunately take victims, I did not expect that. So touching and dramatic, I've never felt such tension and excitement of what was going to happen next in any other MLP episode! Though Sombra's initial defeat was predictable, his return with the destruction of the Tree was not!

 

Spoiler

 

I also got flashbacks of The Cutie Re-mark, the reality of King Sombra's reign, this was so good and Sombra got the powerful episode he deserved!

 

Very touching part to see the possessed ponies of Ponyville like that, that made it darker than what we saw in Cutie Re-mark, this was amazingly well made, EPIC, I was waiting for something like that. Starlight, The CMCs, Wonderbolts, Derpy, Lyra you too? 

 

Spoiler

 

 

In the beginning of the premiere it was funny that the Sisters or the Mane 6 admitted how useless the two Sisters were to major trouble as the community was often pointing. And how,like heard again, making some use of the Pillars that are rarely seen other than for minor episodes! 

 

Spoiler

 

 

I really thought that something was going to happen to Discord as well, but suspected some trick of him pretending in the end, and so it happened.

 

Spoiler

 

 

As for the defeat of Sombra, it happened as expected the first time, and now how this will proceed throughout the season 9, I can't wait! They do not need to wait only for the Season Finale, it can be something in the middle as well as a single ep or two part-er.

 

Gosh, FINALLY! The episode was SOOO GOOD! I often mentioned how some Season Premieres/Finales are from the best but not as good as Twilight Kingdom, some like School Daze even lesser, but this.... finally the long awaited alliance of the villains Chrysalis and Tirek, and Cozy and Sombra all under the master mind of a new legendary villain Grogar despite him not looking the most evil, yes!! It is the most awesome, best two part-er and episodes of the whole show for me, beating even Twi's Kingdom by a lot more! This is why I love MLP as it is more than just a show about talking ponies like Season 1 and inspiration for my own fantasy story! 

 

Big thank you to Joanna Lewis and Kristine Songco and all involved for the direction of the story, as this is what I wanted to see!

 

 

 

[Hatari05 1]

I have way too much to say about the premiere so I will hold off and just give my full thoughts in a breakdown and analysis.  All I will say here is great premiere my second favorite of the show behind only the cutie map.  Great moments, Sombra was honestly one of the most dangerous and formidable enemies they ever went up against.  Some truly good set up and story turning points but the most notable thing is how well it sets up the season.  Really great season premiere to start off the final season.