S09:E24+E25 - The End of the End

[bwrosas 252]

1 hour ago, bwrosas said:

#MLPSeriesfinale IS TRENDING #1 CURRENTLY ON TWITTER!

 

further proof it still is as 10:50pm Pacific time

[Cash In 22,214]

Oh boy, I guess we better address the elephant in the room here. Yes, the Discord twist was very dumb, but they did allude to the fact that he was up to something throughout the season. Doesn't excuse it of course. The fate of Tirek, Chrysalis and Cozy Glow was kinda unexpected in the long run, but I guess it sort of makes sense in the context of solidifying some sort of happy ending. Anyways, the two episodes had some good moments. Starlight fighting Chrysalis was easily the highlight and I liked how the ending mirrored the end scene in The Best Night Ever. As basically the grand finale, this was alright, but is easily one of the weaker finales in the whole show. There were good moments, so I'm glad we could end with a couple of high notes. Well, there's still one more episode....

Edited November 29, 2021 by Cash_In

[gingerninja666 487]

I do get why people were annoyed by the Discord thing. But I liked it. I actually thought it made sense when you look at Discord across the entire season.

 

In all of his major appearances they've been reinforcing this idea that he allows bad things to happen just so that Twilight and her friends can handle them. It's flat out said that Discord could've stopped Sombra whenever he wanted, but he allowed Sombra to run rampant and brainwash everyone. That was just in the premiere. He got so much screentime there, and all of it is spent manipulating the cast.

He didn't need to be in Summer Sun Setback at all. His only purpose is to NOT help out when he easily could've, just to teach the gang a lesson. Then at the end he cryptically talks about them being "ready for whatever comes next."

 

I get why some people are dissapointed that we didn't get Grogar, but I have to object to say that it DOES make sense. It's paying off what Discord has been doing all along. It's his trollish, trickster mentorship coming back to bite him in the ass.

And I think jamming in Grogar along with EVERYTHING else in that finale would've made it even more bloated.

Edited October 13, 2019 by gingerninja666

[Quinch 1,120]

47 minutes ago, gingerninja666 said:

I do get why people were annoyed by the Discord thing. But I liked it. I actually thought it made sense when you look at Discord across the entire season. 

In all of his major appearances they've been reinforcing this idea that he allows bad things to happen just so that Twilight and her friends can handle them.

This.

When you think about it, when it comes to treatment of Twilight, Discord is basically Celestia's funhouse mirror - whereas Celestia is cautious and patient, training and educating Twilight so she can confidently send her to deal with issues as they arise, the spirit of chaos tends to be a lot more proactive. It's a trend we've first seen - I think - with his "blue flu" shenanigans, where he engineered a test to see how far she'd be willing to go for him - a "friend", supposedly. His constant prodding and pushing at her personality is also a part of that, although on a less significant, but more consistent scale. I might even call it a supplement to Celestia's own grooming and education, although he has an interesting way of going about it - while he doesn't try to hide that he's testing her reactions and decisions, and correcting her when she makes a wrong one {for example, the plunder seeds crisis}, he does it in a way that hits Twilight's reactions and distracts her from what he's actually doing. And while some of those were risky, he did point out that he was ready to act as a safety net - like, say, with Sombra - if things went a little more south than expected.

Which kind of makes me wonder if that's what he was trying to do with the evil four - he was constantly prodding them to learn how to work together, something that usually requires mutual understanding or respect, in order to reform them much like Fluttershy did with him. Unfortunately, they ended up learning how to cooperate only enough to act against a common enemy - him - at which point they dissolved back to petty bickering and power grabs.

I feel like there's a lesson in that.

Edited October 13, 2019 by The Grim Reader

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,161]

Admittedly I thought I was spoiled and kinda figured out how the finale went.

Good LORD was I wrong!

While I was aware of Discord disguising himself as Grogar, I didn't realize that it would be found out in the very first minute of the first part! As such the finale as a whole was a ride that largely kept me guessing and on my feet. Truly; the final showdown was worthy of being the finale of a such show. I loved every minute of it!

Plus, I'm relieved that Sombra actually was brought back. I was afraid he was just a part of Discord's magic, but nope. He still caused damage and I'm happy!

[Quinch 1,120]

Just now, PathfinderCS said:

Plus, I'm relieved that Sombra actually was brought back. I was afraid he was just a part of Discord's magic, but nope. He still caused damage and I'm happy!

Which kinda means that Discord got Sombra straight-up killed....?

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,161]

2 minutes ago, The Grim Reader said:

Which kinda means that Discord got Sombra straight-up killed....?

Pretty much; Sombra probably got the worst fate out of all of them...depending on how you look at the Storm King tho. XD

[BastementSparkle 20,324]

Just now, PathfinderCS said:

Pretty much; Sombra probably got the worst fate out of all of them...depending on how you look at the Storm King tho. XD

Discord was also conscious in his statue prison, he could apparently hear things. He just couldn't move or talk or interact with anything at all, frozen in place for a thousand years, hearing life go on around you, isolated entirely. It'd drive anyone to madness, unless you were already a mad Chaos Spirit in the first place.

 I sincerely hope the trio aren't conscious in that statue, otherwise they very well might have just got a fate far worse than death.

[Quinch 1,120]

3 minutes ago, PathfinderCS said:

Pretty much; Sombra probably got the worst fate out of all of them...depending on how you look at the Storm King tho. XD

Hey, at least the Storm King got some eyeballs to move around left.

Just now, BastementSparkle said:

 I sincerely hope the trio aren't conscious in that statue, otherwise they very well might have just got a fate far worse than death.

I need to properly go through the last episode... is the statue still there in the timeskip?

[BastementSparkle 20,324]

3 minutes ago, The Grim Reader said:

I need to properly go through the last episode... is the statue still there in the timeskip?

We don't see it at all. So at least for now it's basically just headcanon and fanfic fuel, whether they were released after a while or if they're still in there.

Edited October 13, 2019 by BastementSparkle

[gingerninja666 487]

2 hours ago, BastementSparkle said:

Discord was also conscious in his statue prison, he could apparently hear things. He just couldn't move or talk or interact with anything at all, frozen in place for a thousand years, hearing life go on around you, isolated entirely. It'd drive anyone to madness, unless you were already a mad Chaos Spirit in the first place.

 I sincerely hope the trio aren't conscious in that statue, otherwise they very well might have just got a fate far worse than death.

I think this is a thing that has enough wiggle room to be up to interpretation.

 

Discord said he was concious, but other characters refer to the spell as "stone sleep", implying that you're NOT conscious when under its effect. That was Rockhoof's plan. Discord is also the type of person who would lie about something like that. He mentioned being conscious when he was still a villain. So he could've just been saying that to mess with them or make them feel bad about stoning him.

Edited October 13, 2019 by gingerninja666

[Hierok 11,831]

I liked it, but I really wished Discord wouldn't go out so easily, or predicted it. Grogar being Discord was awesome tho! 

Also, the pillars and the princesses were also to weak imo. The 3 villains should have tacled them together. But overal it was nicely done.

2 hours ago, BastementSparkle said:

Discord was also conscious in his statue prison, he could apparently hear things. He just couldn't move or talk or interact with anything at all, frozen in place for a thousand years, hearing life go on around you, isolated entirely. It'd drive anyone to madness, unless you were already a mad Chaos Spirit in the first place.

 I sincerely hope the trio aren't conscious in that statue, otherwise they very well might have just got a fate far worse than death.

That's pretty dark indeed. Hadn't thought of that yet. Now I'm really worried about the Stormking. 

[Rising Dusk 27,507]

The two part finale has come and gone.  This is a difficult one to review because of the mix of emotions the two episodes bring out.  One of the fears I had with the lack of presence from the Legion of Doom showed its head.  Throughout the season there wasn't a lot of build up to their appearance in these episodes, so their dominance felt... rushed, or reduced to a feeling of having to accept things as 'just cause, go with it.'  If growing distrust among the pony races had been more sprinkled throughout the season, it might have been easier to swallow than that it just happened suddenly.  And the fact none of the Mane Six had even heard or brought into the circle of dispersing among their groups.  Lyra hiding in the school and Bon Bon in Ponyville, split apart because of unicorn vs earth pony after what happened just an episode before?  Yeah, no.  They would have been right up there with Sandbar bringing Ponyville back together as two different pony races hoof in hoof.

Discord being Grogar the whole times was... disappointing.  Yes, yes it does make sense for his character to try and help a friend in such a way, but... I dunno, it felt a little cheap somehow.  Maybe because we did get a little sprinkle of lore about Grogar that I wanted to know more and these tales of even more ancient powerful ponies before the time of the Pillars, that will remain a mystery.  A last note on Discord, didn't Tirek already take Discord's power before with no ill harm?  Why was this different?  I know he can only eat the magic of living beings, but why not just eat it off Cozy Glow for extra power?  I dunno, random thoughts.

Okay okay, enough of the negative.  While having a strange flow, these episodes were packed with absolutely awesome moments!  Best pony Starlight in that epic battle against Chrysalis?  Oh yeah!  A perfect use of the Student Six to show off, well, being students!  Spreading the lessons they learned while at the School of Friendship to bring the ponies and even allied creatures together for this final battle.  I was so happy to see they didn't come in wielding the Elements of Harmony and that the focus was still on Twilight.  Although the the Tree House does go unexplored with the end of the season.  Bringing Fizzlepop Berrytwist back?  Sweet, even if she didn't speak or anything, it was nice to see she wasn't a forgotten character after the events of the movie.  I liked that the villains didn't get reformed in the end.  To see Chrysalis told true to her character all the way to end was delightful.

I was a bit worried how it ended at a donut shop, but then I remembered there was one more episode to go.  They'd trained me so well with two part finales.

Overall, good episodes that needed to have a lot shoved into them.  They could have benefited from more build up throughout the season to aid in the flow.  As a view of bringing together nine seasons to an end, it would be a tough chore for any writer.  Even with my personal gripes, the two episodes were full of emotion and did what few shows can claim to do and give us an ending we all deserve.

 

[Oleks 1,993]

Fluttershy: It's like the end of an era.
Rainbow Dash: Or the beginning of an even more awesome era!

Before the finale and the epilogue I tried to keep my expectations in check. Nothing is perfect, and the episodes simply could not give everyone everything they wanted, hoped for or expected. And that’s OK.

I must say I genuinely enjoyed the two-parter. Even though it started with a surprising reveal that gave me mixed feelings, overall it turned out to be a great ending of the incredibly amazing journey – 9 seasons of MLP FiM.

The intense fights and the epic final battle, the fact that almost everycreature from all nine seasons and beyond came back and played their part, many funny moments and references (Discord as Gandalf was hilarious, and the Pinky and the Brain reference was pure gold – they just had to wait till the very end to throw this one in!), the payoff of the School of Friendship – all this made the finale memorable and satisfying. But the most important thing – the messages delivered by the characters to each other and to us: while listening to some things that the heroes were saying I couldn’t help feeling that they were speaking to us all. “There will always be darkness in the world, but there will also always be those who find the light!... Together we worked to bring harmony to Equestria! But there will always be more to do! Which is why we teach others about the Magic of Friendship! Others who will continue our mission after we are gone!”

Also, the throwback to Season 1 finale – eating shawarma donuts after the adventure in a small group of the best of friends – a very fitting ending. Although at that point I could hardly see anything because of liquid pride in my eyes.

[Rushing cash 836]

Alright, the last 2 part episode in the series and I think it was amazing one of the best two parters and probably the best finale. Anyway, after episode 17 I kinda expected that the villain trio will actually fool and defeat grogar, although I would admit I did not expect discord to be grogar at all. Obviously discords plan was stupid and he shouldn't have done it but considering he is the embodiment of chaos it makes sense for him to cause chaos, its kinda what he is, its his instinct. Also I have to upload the writers for throwing small clues during the season that discord was grogar(like the transition between discord and grogar near the end of episode 17), now that we know it we see them but beforehand we did not because they were very subtle. Also tireks reaction to this was the best, unexpected is one way to put it.

The new design of the empowered villains are neat, tirek just became bigger so nothing cool here however cozy and chrysalis... Chrysalis looks amazing and more menacing then before(not to say that I didn't like her original design but this one looks slightly better) and cozy is an ALICORN for goodness sake and a powerful one to boot. The scene when cozy absorbed discords magic and became that thing was hilarious I couldn't stop laughing. Now about their chemistry, I loved how their personalities were playing of each other and how their ideas were clashing. Cozy was the enthusiastic one and was the one who glued them together, Tirek was the sensible one he wanted to defeat the windigoes and find twilight as soon as possible because he knew they could cause trouble for them down the line while Chrysalis came with the strategies but wanted to show off and gloat. Their punishment was fitting and left me very satisfied, being turned to stone and being conscience during it forever(they will probably one day be fried but by then they might go insane, although its possible they are not conscience and just turned to stone and discord was because he is discord). The windigoes were real, as every legend in equestria. 

Starlight played an important role here, she had a good fight with chrysalis and then freed the mane 6, and the others to let the the remain 5 and spike escape while the rest fought. The pillars were kinda disappointing and it was really easy for cozy to reach them, I guess the new defense mechanisms were useless as well. 

Some nice cameos like tempest and the kirins plus everyone helped fight the villains in the end, also pinkie might be very dangerous with discords powers. Great finale to end the main plot line, 10\10.

 

[Ittoni 538]

10 hours ago, Wolf Guide said:

Arguably, the only real damage from this plan was the destruction of the Tree of Harmony. And even then I wouldn't call it permanent.

In his defense, Discord's plan didn't kill the Tree of Harmony. The original Tree of Harmony itself may be gone. But its Spirit lives on in the form of a new tree in the middle of the old castle. And ultimately if serious problems can be fixed or moved on from, I wouldn't call it a problem anymore. Some plans shall always have some risks to it. There was some damage but the damage was fixed if not made stronger such as the Tree becoming a sanctuary of sorts.

I believe it's much more impressive to find some good out of a bad situation. It shows how we can be adaptable to tough situations. And it's important to turn a bad outcome into a lesson that makes one stronger. So as bad and stupid as the plan can been seen by some. I'm glad to see the good characters improve because of it.

That's what happens when you have a lord of chaos in your pantheon. 

People either forget or don't really understand/have never encounter themselves with how trickster gods work. Think Loki and Thor/Odin. Loki is a trickster God, he's the god of deception lies and pranks, I would say one of the most important and recognizable in the world. His stories involve from being very charming to very annoying, from being just a prankster to being the bringer of destruction of the world as we know it, but the other gods still keep him around and enjoy his presence as much as detest his antics, get on edge with his wrongdoings, or even get a good laugh when he ultimately fails, and his destructive plans, even if he succeeds it's to ultimately rebuild and create a new better era. There's so many different stories about him because he was so popular and that's why he is so chaotic too. He's also a shapeshifter. 

The problem with Discord is not that he is a trickster God but that one, he didn't got that much of the laughter aspect as much as it should have to balance out the bad behavior, two, the main six save for Fluttershy and sometimes Starlight, find him utterly annoying all the time to even make faces just at his sole presence, to the point that even so far in the series he still questions if anyone considers him an actual friend aside from Fluttershy, because they have never really made the effort to grow that friendship and teach him or just be around him sharing a good time, they just make him aside all the time and only call him when they need his magic so no wonder he feels left out and bitter and ultimately uncaring probably even cheated, and three, it was probably too high of a concept for the show and it's audience. You will either have to know this beforehand or they would had to be very careful with it's execution.

Celestia, you invited him, so it's your fault. 

(I find it interesting though how the spirit of chaos was partially responsible for the destruction of the tree of harmony/the spirit of the tree of harmony but for it to renew itself and better)

Edited October 13, 2019 by Ittoni

[BastementSparkle 20,324]

4 hours ago, gingerninja666 said:

I think this is a thing that has enough wiggle room to be up to interpretation.

 

Discord said he was concious, but other characters refer to the spell as "stone sleep", implying that you're NOT conscious when under its effect. That was Rockhoof's plan. Discord is also the type of person who would lie about something like that. He mentioned being conscious when he was still a villain. So he could've just been saying that to mess with them or make them feel bad about stoning him. 

Oh, it has plenty of wiggle room. I'm not saying that they definitely are conscious...Just that it's a possibility.

 Anyway, Discord lying is plausible, but he actually does immediately know the ponies are planning on reforming him the second he get's out of his statue in "Keep Calm and Flutter On", saying that being turned to stone doesn't keep him from "Hearing every word Celestia says". Discord obviously isn't omniscient, otherwise he would have known the trio had the bell, and he never would have lost to the Mane Six in the first place, etc. He can know about things he wasn't there for through some means, but the fact he knows immediately right out of the statue makes me think he was being truthful.

[Dark Qiviut 22,379]

Oh, oh, oh, good morning, Bronyville!

I think it’s now time to post about the elephant in the room.

The more I think about it, the less I like the twist. On one hand, Discord being Grogar was very subtly hinted all season long, such as their similar eyes (both iris and sclera) and beards, Discord being able to “stop the whole Sombra thing whenever he wanted,” how amoral he is as a character and cares in a very peculiar, roundabout way, how he always hesitated to hurt the a terrible Trio, had no knowledge of the bell and spellbook being hidden, the fact that the Terrible Trio are sending “Discord” around Equestria, etc. From a writing perspective, this was clearly a well-thought-out plan. And according to the leaks from two days ago, this twist was planned from the beginning.

However, Discord’s plan was beyond reckless. His plan almost took down and enslaved The Crystal Empire, almost killed the Tree, brought back the Windigoes, he didn't have a backup, and he should've been able to think at some point the villains might've been backstabbing. Maybe he cares too much, but he caused plenty of collateral damage beyond what was told.

Just because it’s in character of Discord doesn’t make it okay. The episode made sure that Discord’s actions were awful and that he regretted them. The way he made up for it somehow was pure Discord in its Q-ist form. He knew exactly how to get under Tirek’s skin, reminding him that King Vorak (never thought I expected a callback to his Fiendship issue!) was more successful than him. His brother was a clear sore spot back in Twilight’s Kingdom, so it makes sense his dad would be, too.

However, for the “epic” makeup and all the stakes talked about in this two-parter, the episode consolidated and downplayed the consequences of his massive stupidity. Thanks to his actions, thousands of lives (including FS, who he supposedly cares for) were in grave danger, both intended and otherwise. His plan had no margin of error; everything had to go perfectly. From the get-go, everything went wrong. Sombra defied him. The Terrible Trio began a plan to backstab him. During Setback, they not only continued to round their own plan, but set up a strategy to pit all pony races against one another. At the end, his galaxy-sized idiocy almost divided Equestria and almost cost the Mane Six and Spike their lives.

Had Discord had the wherewithal to see it all beforehand and not blindly put faith on the trio, he might’ve been able to hatch a backup plan should they betray him. Secondly, he’s been around the Mane Six/Eight for years; surely he’d been able to think this through. Hell, he had that orb (which he likely used his own magic to activate) to see what happened. Considering his immortality and infinite powers, he coulda tapped it anytime he wished. 

This plot twist, well-planned behind the scenes or not, is a massive flaw to this entire two-parter and really brings it down.

 

[Patty Thundersnow 4,163]

It annoys the heck out of me that Discord was behind everything, but what an ending to the two parter. Was great seeing so many ponies from the past and even the movie.

[Latecomer 439]

22 minutes ago, Dark Qiviut said:

Oh, oh, oh, good morning, Bronyville!

I think it’s now time to post about the elephant in the room.

The more I think about it, the less I like the twist. On one hand, Discord being Grogar was very subtly hinted all season long, such as their similar eyes (both iris and sclera) and beards, Discord being able to “stop the whole Sombra thing whenever he wanted,” how amoral he is as a character and cares in a very peculiar, roundabout way, how he always hesitated to hurt the a terrible Trio, had no knowledge of the bell and spellbook being hidden, the fact that the Terrible Trio are sending “Discord” around Equestria, etc. From a writing perspective, this was clearly a well-thought-out plan. And according to the leaks from two days ago, this twist was planned from the beginning.

However, Discord’s plan was beyond reckless. His plan almost took down and enslaved The Crystal Empire, almost killed the Tree, brought back the Windigoes, he didn't have a backup, and he should've been able to think at some point the villains might've been backstabbing. Maybe he cares too much, but he caused plenty of collateral damage beyond what was told.

Just because it’s in character of Discord doesn’t make it okay. The episode made sure that Discord’s actions were awful and that he regretted them. The way he made up for it somehow was pure Discord in its Q-ist form. He knew exactly how to get under Tirek’s skin, reminding him that King Vorak (never thought I expected a callback to his Fiendship issue!) was more successful than him. His brother was a clear sore spot back in Twilight’s Kingdom, so it makes sense his dad would be, too.

However, for the “epic” makeup and all the stakes talked about in this two-parter, the episode consolidated and downplayed the consequences of his massive stupidity. Thanks to his actions, thousands of lives (including FS, who he supposedly cares for) were in grave danger, both intended and otherwise. His plan had no margin of error; everything had to go perfectly. From the get-go, everything went wrong. Sombra defied him. The Terrible Trio began a plan to backstab him. During Setback, they not only continued to round their own plan, but set up a strategy to pit all pony races against one another. At the end, his galaxy-sized idiocy almost divided Equestria and almost cost the Mane Six and Spike their lives.

Had Discord had the wherewithal to see it all beforehand and not blindly put faith on the trio, he might’ve been able to hatch a backup plan should they betray him. Secondly, he’s been around the Mane Six/Eight for years; surely he’d been able to think this through. Hell, he had that orb (which he likely used his own magic to activate) to see what happened. Considering his immortality and infinite powers, he coulda tapped it anytime he wished. 

This plot twist, well-planned behind the scenes or not, is a massive flaw to this entire two-parter and really brings it down.

 

Do you think it might work better if the Sombra portion was excised?

Or perhaps if it was actually a revived Sombra who gathered the others in the pilot, and Discord's involvement started when he appeared again to them at the end and said that the plan was still on?

[cmarston1 5,959]

So I finally got to see the last two part episode of the entire series.  Despite it being leaked quite a while back, I have tried my hardest to avoid spoilers, and for the most part I was successful.  After waiting patiently to see it, I have to say that I though that The Ending of the End was pretty good.  There was a lot that I had to like about it.  For instance I have been a fan of the whole dynamic between Chrysalis, Cozy, and Tirek and like always it was fun to see in these episodes.  The stakes were appropriately high for a finale and there was some pretty great tension here, as well as  some pretty fun action sequences.  While the twist of Discord pretending to be Grogar might come across as being weird, I did like how it challenged the beliefs of the mane 6 and what they were truly capable of, which is a conflict I felt appropriate to be in a finale. Cozy, Tirek, and Chrysalis diving the unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies was also a conflict that I liked in this episode.  It allowed for the whole theme of the show about friendship and comradery to really come to play here.  Especially when it came to the student six banding everyone together and pulling an Avengers Endgame with all of the allies the mane 6 made over the years, including Tempest which I thought was pretty cool. I especially liked how the episode ended with the mane 6 and Spike at Pony Joe's reference the ending of the first season finale.  There was enough call backs and allusions to past episodes, and touching sentimental moments, to make me feel that this was a great final two parter.

[DonMaguz 1,023]

Just watched the two parter finale for the season and it delivered amazingly!

I think this might have become my favorite two parter, it took advantage of having various episodes of the season as a premise, so this one was 80%-90% delivering a great climatic ending to the season.

I absolutely loved how great the villains were portrayed, Chaotic Cozy Glow was a beautiful surprise, Twilight's doubting herself felt very real, the students 6 part was brilliant and Starlight's confidence on taking Chrysalis on and freeing the mane 6 were my favorite parts.

10/10 episode without a doubt.

[ChB 18,550]

When Grogar turned back into Discord, I thought for a minute that Discord was used as a decoy on Grogar's behalf, just in case the Terrible Trio would betray him. Looks like I gave him too much credit.  

[Sparklefan1234 169,730]

Michael Vogel: And the reason is to be with your friends! 

Also, Michael Vogel: Let's encase a filly in stone! 

Edited October 13, 2019 by Sparklefan1234

[Latecomer 439]

9 hours ago, gingerninja666 said:

I do get why people were annoyed by the Discord thing. But I liked it. I actually thought it made sense when you look at Discord across the entire season.

 

In all of his major appearances they've been reinforcing this idea that he allows bad things to happen just so that Twilight and her friends can handle them. It's flat out said that Discord could've stopped Sombra whenever he wanted, but he allowed Sombra to run rampant and brainwash everyone. That was just in the premiere. He got so much screentime there, and all of it is spent manipulating the cast.

He didn't need to be in Summer Sun Setback at all. His only purpose is to NOT help out when he easily could've, just to teach the gang a lesson. Then at the end he cryptically talks about them being "ready for whatever comes next."

 

I get why some people are dissapointed that we didn't get Grogar, but I have to object to say that it DOES make sense. It's paying off what Discord has been doing all along. It's his trollish, trickster mentorship coming back to bite him in the ass.

And I think jamming in Grogar along with EVERYTHING else in that finale would've made it even more bloated.

Yes, it's in chracter (basically Operation Winterzilla writ large). Yes, sidelining Grogar to focus on the Trio was best. And yes, it's still a terrible idea as executed, worsened by Discord gleefully disposing of his tools while suffering no consequences himself.

Spoiler

He even gets with Fluttershy in the end!