Unpopular opinion time

@Ring Team  
Because the hype, spoiler warning, ain’t for much and most of the episodes in between don’t carry the same weight you expect a final season to have.

@WyrmSpawN  
I was thinking about that for a couple of minutes. It’s not the first time that happened. It happened in season 5, where we saw a dangerous Starlight in the first episode and the last episode. Many people were fine with this, but I didn’t. And I like season 5, it’s a fine season despite its flaws (Starlight being one of them).
 
I think the villains will appear in this first episode and in one of the last episodes. The fact that I saw that back in season 5 makes me expecting something like that. Still, I don’t know what’s gonna happen in season 9, except that last image without context from The Last Problem.
 
But, after all this time, including some major disappointments back in season 6, I’m not bothered at all. Will season 9 have some filler episodes? Of course, just like season 4, and 6, and 7, and 8, and all the Starlight episodes where her terrible and selfish actions invalidate her redemption arc just because one fanboy wrote to Hasbro “excuse me, I wanna see something like Dragon Ball, Starlight would shoot some OP magic even though it wouldn’t make sense to her redemption arc”. Of course some episodes won’t be as good as we expect. Sometimes the expectation we feel is bigger than the actual story we get. I think it was a HelloGreedo video, but he said there were studies that show that we enjoy more because of the expectation than the actual story. The weeks of waiting, the months of waiting… all that is intriguing and very interesting.
 
I don’t expect the season 9 to be fully dedicated to the development of these characters based on The beginning of the end, because the season 5 didn’t developed Starlight properly. She just got two episodes and nothing else. But, regardless of the result of that first episode, I think some of the episodes will be really cool. I don’t expect it to be perfect, but if seasons 7 and 8 got some interesting episodes and concept ideas, the season 9 will at least have some interesting episodes. And that little wish is all that matters to me right now. Not perfect episodes, not excellent episodes, just interesting episodes.
 
I’m trying not to sound too excited or too cynical. I’m realistic. But in my defense I enjoyed at least 25% of the seasons 7 and 8. The more I watch this TV show (a TV show I stopped watching years ago), the less worried I am. I admit I was worried right after watching season 7 because of all that treatment Starlight got, which was weird. But that feeling wasn’t that present months ago when I was watching season 8.
 
Let’s see what happens. Will I get a boring episode? Yup. Will I get a bad episode? Yup. Will I get an interesting or good episode? Absolutely. Everything is possible.
 
Sorry for the long text and take care everyone. :)

@Ring Team  
I’ve said before that some of your “this should have been earlier” is excessive, and I’ll say it more here. Twilight being handed the throne as soon as she got her wings makes no sense in anything other than an emergency setting. Honestly, I think this point might be too soon in a “realistic” sense - and from a show perspective, it’s not something that can be done without very much changing the structure of the whole show.

@Ring Team  
Well, I hope you’re able to find the interesting episodes you seek in Season 9. Soem people managed, others struggled. (I think there are a couple of really good ones, at least.)

@Ring Team  

 
 
I still say that if they wanted to go that route, Scootaloo’s wing situation should have been left out of it. That or reform Lightning Dust and have her offer to let Scootaloo come back when she’s all grown up and the Washouts have some proper safety measures in place. Though it did have its fair share of entertaining moments, such as Spitfire’s meme-worthy safety lecture.
 

 
Their arguing got real annoying real fast, especially when they were arguing over who was more committed to putting a stop to their arguing. And they can’t set their competitive streak aside when the safety of their students is at stake? You’d think they were TRYING to prove Neighsay right.

@DoctorWTF  
Scoots doesn’t need LD.

@Ring Team  

 
laughs in having watched the 9th season already
 
And recurring reminder.

@Vivace  

 
I don’t think he actually cares if his reasons for disliking Starlight are valid or not. He’s just going to keep hating her no matter what.

I recently watched Uprooted and Twilight’s Seven.
 
Uprooted it’s a pretty nice episode with a nice song and a cute ending. The blue griffon (I forgot his name) was really stupid and mean in the second act, but the episode is still fine.
 
Twilight’s Seven was… ok, I guess? It’s not bad, I like the concept, some animations were funny and I really like the ending. But the episode was very slow, the pop-culture references were too obvious to me and Pinkie’s shenanigans were a bit annoying. I also don’t like Zephyr here. I thought he changed right after Flutter Brutter. I guess some things never change.
 
I think I’m more benevolent with season 9 right now because by the time I started watching it I accepted many of the flaws of the TV show. There’s no hype, but there’s also no frustration.
 
Well, 4 episodes watched. 22 to go.
 
By the way, I don’t know the rest, but out of the six students, my favourite is Yona. She’s so cute, like a big dog. Silverstream is my least favourite. She’s just Pinkie Pie with feathers: Annoying and with zero interest to shut up.

At least we never have to see or hear from starlight again. That particular nightmare is over. G5 is a fresh start and I’m lookin foward to seeing what it has to offer.

Hold on, did the MLP G5 start? I know there was a trailer, but apart from that, I know nothing about it.

@Ring Team  
One thing that might or might not affect your view of Sparkle’s Seven is that it was a special episode like Slice of Life, assembled from suggestions from each of the primary voice cast.

@Latecomer  
I’ve kinda read that, just the basics. It sounds interesting and kinda cool. However, for a 200th episode, I thought it was just ok.
 
But I admit I don’t know how I’d write a “200th episode” in a way that many people, especially little kids, would enjoy. I’d probably take the Mane 6 and put them in an adventure discovering new worlds, new towns and new creatures, kinda like the MLP film.
 
Because of that, I’m not too harsh on the episode.

@Latecomer  

 
Season 9 had some of the most inexcusably stupid creative decisions in the series, but it wasn’t as worthless as so many fans claim.
 
 

 
No, but she ought to have some satisfying alternative to the Wonderbolts. A stunt team like the Washouts (again, minus the Tartarus-may-care attitude towards safety) could have fit the bill perfectly.

@DoctorWTF  
Perhaps she’ll make her own one day.

@Star Seeker  
Yeah, there doesn’t seem to be any means of discussions or trying to rebuke arguments, just dislikes for the sake of disliking something and to spite others.

@Latecomer  

 
That’s certainly possible (if she could apply her mechanical skill to prosthetics, even the Wonderbolts might not be off the table). My point there was that if the creators wanted to give us a character struggling with a dream-crushing handicap, there should have been some intelligent discussion of quality alternatives to said dream. Flight to the Finish had Scootaloo learn that even if she can’t fly, she’s still special in other ways, yet the one time we see her trying to translate said “other ways” into a potential career it’s presented as a bad thing.

@Ring Team
 

 
But… Starlight wasn’t used to channel a huge amount of magic power. She was just imprisoned because she had the potential to ruin Cozy’s plans.

Season 2 of Pony Life, while an improvement, is still nothing more than proof that 5 minutes is too short a time for an episode, as most if not all episodes there are basically immediate sequels to other Season 2 episodes.

I haven’t watched Pony Life, but, considering that Friendship is Magic has 22 minutes episodes and some of them are just filler with no substancial content, I’m perfectly fine with 5 minutes episodes to be honest.

@Background Pony #3312  
I don’t know if that matters as much to him as much as how he (mis)interpreted it. Keeps the cheap shot afloat.

Twilight Sparkle used to be my favorite of the Mane 6 but overtime, Applejack is starting to fill into that role. I’m starting to like and appreciate her straight man and levelheaded personality of the entire group and I’m glad that she was created to act as a balance for the other five different personalities. That and I’ve been starting to relate to her a lot.

@Myoozik  
I’ve also come to appreciate her more over time, though I wonder if that’s just my contrarianism in the face of claims she’s the least interesting Mane and could have easily been omitted.
 
(I’ve also come to ship her and Twi a fair bit, for some reason - I already liked them as best friends, but…)

@Latecomer  
“Easily” is not the right choice of words there since without her, the group would just be different, opposite personality clashes and it would’ve been too chaotic without a character who’s grounded in reality to balance it out. A character like her helps keep the group together and keep them in line when they go too far or when a conflict within begins to escalate. Also, honesty is an important aspect of friendship that everyone should have to build a strong and long lasting relationship.
 
Yeah it’s a shame that it came at the expense of not giving her too strong of a personality, but by the end it doesn’t matter cause she turned out to be a beloved character. Rather have a character like her than someone who’s one trait is overexaggerated to the nth degree.

@Algebroot Neogears  

 
Thats right