), I do love fussing over stats where anything of interest is concerned, Fimfic included. Happily, I’m not alone (because duh 
): Recommendsday blogger, fic writer and all-around awesome chap TCC56 does too, and in his latestEpisode Review: "The Beginning of the End" - Season 9 Episodes 1 & 2 · 8:48pm Apr 8th, 2019
Well, with a title like that, they're really not holding back on accentuating it's the final season, are they?
Going to try giving this review-every-episode-of-the-season-right-after-its-come-out thing a go. Also reviewing primarily for fellow fans, rather then theoretically anyone. Well, this IS a Pony website, to be fair.
...my gosh, this is the last season premiere ever, and only my second one. I'm getting emotional already... But, I'll save that for later down the line this year. Let's dive in.
This was a really solid two-parter opener. While it did throw a lot at the viewer and had a lot going on, it had its priorities right in terms of what mattered regarding characters and plot points. You'll often hear a term thrown around, "overstuffed", usually to refer to stories that have way too much proportional to their length to work, and as a result fail to make almost all of it land to any real effect. This basically stops a little off of that, so while it is still the case that some minor points are rushed through and there's little in terms of a breathing break, it's rarely distractingly so when watching the episode. Something that cannot be said for School Raze or even the otherwise-solid Shadow Play.
One thing that helps this episode a lot is bringing the focus back to the Mane 6. Not since... the Cutie Map, has a two-parter really resolved around them, as least in terms of on-screen focus. The show's modern expanded cast is wonderful in many ways. But two-parters from Shadow Play onwards have all being super-bloated as a result of trying to give lots of characters something to do (consider the useless usage of the CMC in School Raze, or how School Daze could never seem to decide to focus on Twilight or the Young 6). I know I'm not alone in feeling that the final season should mostly focus on the six ponies and one dragon we started this all with, while using other characters as they fit. At least for the most part, in key, central episodes.
What's more, every one of the Mane 6 gets something to do or say that stuck out. May not seem like much, but that should not be taken for granted in this day and age, where mild character regression and out-of-character moments rear their head semi-frequently. I take my spectral hat off to Joanna Lewis and Kristine Songco. They are definitely among the more reliable modern writers, behind such strong episodes as Castle Sweet Castle and Rarity Investigates, among others, and stellar fandom favourites like A Royal Problem and The Perfect Pear. Incidentally, their absence from Season 8 was sorely noticed.
That's not to say the writing was flawless. This was a two-parter that did everything to cover up all obvious plot holes for the fans, sometimes when it shouldn't have bothered. Some elements felt a bit contrived without the hindsight of knowing what happens in later episodes - the Royal Sisters urgently summoning the Mane 7 and the episode starting with them running from the station, for instance. The same could be said for their delayed retirement and Twilight eventually taking their place, even if I am very excited about that (as everyone knows, that was Faust's original intention, but given that was back before Cadence was ever introduced, this will almost certainly play out completely different then how that was envisioned). We'll have to see how these elements fare later.
From there, the episode ping-pongs from one sequence to the next, picking up momentum very carefully that helps it to override tiny quibbles in the heat of the moment. The lengthy sequence with the villains especially, for it does many firsts for the series, and in its final season, no less. Villain team-ups and a seasonal villain being the most notable. I have to say that I'm loving Grogar so far (to be honest, the only new two-parter villain I've liked since Starlight; Stygian doesn't count given circumstances there). Far too early to compare him to the series' rogue's gallery, but the combination of his powers' effectiveness in his weakened state and the silky menace portrayed through his design, voice acting (yes, I quite liked it) and dialogue really does work. Depending on how the rest of the season handles him, he could leave a very lasting legacy. Also depends on how much of his lore is elegantly expanded upon from the tease here - I say this only because the series' handling of its own lore from Season 6 onwards has been decidedly mixed.
Skipping past the rushed pace of the Crystal Empire segment (for it's hard to determine if Sombra failed there on purpose or not to follow the Mane 6 back and destroy the elements), I found Sombra himself in this episode... okay. It's clear from the moment Grogar whisks him away that he's been used as a sacrificial pawn, so his predictable defeat isn't the problem. His voice is mixed, but I don't hold that against him. Ultimately, he's probably the biggest casualty of a two-parter that is still quite jammed, even if all the elements are there in terms of being a big enough threat and the stakes are raised. But all in all, this doesn't bother me too much, as it's not all that different to how he was used last time, where it was more about the stakes the threat presented to our heroes then the threat itself. The difference being that he's a proper character here. Still, he's a proper enough threat and fulfils the plot role more then enough, so it's not that big a quibble.
I think I need to step back and say that show's modern day differences from how it begun do weight this down a little. Most obviously, Twilight's neurotic freak-outs are just a worn-out joke at this point, and continue to make me marginally less invested in her character arc then I might like, but there's also a marked difference between the generic "power of friendship" beam used here and the cases earlier in the show's run where such things were usually cleverly layered and had some real sense to them.
Of course, MLP in Season 9 is not how it was in even Season 5, let alone Season 2. Excepting most of Season 8, I've accepted and even embraced most of modern Pony on its own terms, and if it seems like I'm being hard on this one... well, it's only because had those things been incorporated well, this could have been a two-parter for the history books. As it is, it's still unquestionably one of the best from Season 6 onwards, and the only one since I joined the fandom that I feel not only largely positive about, but excites me hugely. The arcs this episode presents for the seasons has my ghostly form tingling with anticipation. This episode sets up season-long arcs in a way not seen since the keys in Season 4, and it looks like this may dominate the forthcoming season even more then that. I don't know if I really want MLP to be anime-level serialisation, some character-based fillers are always good, but this truly feels like a return to classic, old school FiM adventure-heavy storytelling, albeit in the show's newer style. This two-parter will of course seem better or worse depending on how all that is paid off of in the end.
So, let's wrap up here: an incident-heavy two-parter with suitably high stakes that keeps its focus correct and momentum constant, allowing it to overcome quibbles medium and small it picks up along the way. Most important, it provides a brilliant foundation for seasonal arcs both for Twilight and Grogar's Legion of Doom (couldn't resist). If this can't compare to the classic Return of Harmony and The Cutie Map, it fares fine held up to most of everything else, even if this is definitely a two-parter that deep analysis and repeat viewings will not be very kind to.
Myself, it's the first two-parter since I started way back with the Movie that leaves me throughly entertained and largely excited. Whatever I'm looking forward to the upcoming "filler" episodes, I'm looking very forward to what the seasonal arcs have in store, for the show staff finally seem to be able to go at it, after many years of being held back. Final seasons tend to do that, and I'm suitably warmed to see it here.
Some side notes:
- The meta lampshading was very heavy here, especially with the Royal Sisters' near lack-of-involvement throughout the series. Not sure how I feel about it, to be honest; it seems more akin to a Cartoon Network show then the constantly sincere nature of MLP. That said, it provided lots of great laughs, and made sure to make it clear it was more because they knew Twilight and co. would prevail then anything else. And them not only helping out but actually doing something the Mane 6 could not do right there and then, really helped a lot.
- A little disappointed Spike largely sat this one out - I do use the term Mane 7 for a reason - but it's a minor quibble. Long as the season doesn't throw him under the bus too much past this, it's all good.
- This is about as well as the show can use Discard in a two-parter at this stage, so no quibbles there. I still sometimes wonder whether the show would have been better off not reforming him, whatever entertainment he constantly provides. But, it's clear here, in his own chaotic way, he means well and truly believes in and cares about the main characters. And them to him too, even Twilight to an extent (her continued animosity to Discord when most of the others have warmed up to him somewhat has always been a stickling point with me). I wonder what a map episode with Twilight and Discord would be like... has that ever been done in a fanfiction?
That's remarkably similar to my own thoughts on this episode! I think you may have been slightly less positive, but the difference is very small, and most of the things we've picked out, we agree on.
Nor could the official synopsis.
Not that I know of. It's a very interesting idea, though!
I'm very happy with how S9 has started, though it wasn't a surprise once I knew the identity of the writers. There's really only one episode of theirs I think is meh ("The Hooffields and McColts") and everything else is good-to-stellar.
5041801
You think, huh? Like me saying basically that in a comment on your own review wasn't enough of a clue, eh?
Yeah, I've found our thoughts on episodes are, if not necessarily identical, at least overlap often quite a bit. Fits, I suppose.
As I said, my ultimate opinion of this episode is most likely to adjust depending on how much the arcs set up here are paid off on. I honestly feel they will be delivered on this time. But even if they're not, this two-parter will (probably?) still hold up fine. There's more to episodes like this then whether the setups get paid off later, of course - even IF they end up doing something great with Cozy Glow later, it's not going to suddenly make Marks for Effort a whole lot of nothing outside of introducing her (bit harsh, I know, but it's an episode I ultimately have no real feelings for, positive or negative, so it's apt).