Random Thoughts: School Daze · 1:43am Mar 25th, 2018
Warning: Spoilers abound. Proceed with caution.
Well, I planned to write this post tomorrow, but the movie my brother and I planned on seeing was sold out (note to him: must remember to buy tickets in advance next time). So, here we are.
Honestly, I usually don't have this much to say about season openers. But, it appears MLP will continue to surprise me in new and curious ways. So, follow me below the break, and let's see if Season 8 is putting its best foot forward.
1. Honestly, I'm not a big fan of how they incorporated the movie into the show. Oh, I'm not against them doing it; it just felt like they dropped it on our heads out of nowhere. Now, I know bits and pieces of what happened in the movie, but I haven't seen the whole thing, sadly. And I feel like anyone who doesn't at least have a rough idea of what happened there is going to be lost.
2. I mentioned this in my comment in the Episode Discussion, but the last course in my Master's program was Literacy and Instruction. That course is basically about creating lessons plans and trying to reach as many people as possible when you're teaching them. As such, I couldn't help but feel immediately captivated by Twilight going through this process of opening a school. A school for all manner of species, no less.
3. Chancellor Neighsay! Uptight species-ist who sounds like a cross between Professor Snape and a certain mouse who constantly tries to take over the world! Glad you could be our villain for this season!
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What? You don't think he's going to be the season's villain? C'mon. He's totally going to be the season's villain. Why wouldn't he be?
4. This point is a bit overdue, given what happened in the movie, but I have to ask: Why make hippogriffs amphibious sea ponies when there's already a perfectly good mythical creature called a hippogriff which is a crossbreed between a griffon and a pony?! Sometimes, the choices this show makes baffle me. 
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Wait, does that make the Sirens hippogriffs? Ah, screw it. I'm just gonna make this easier for myself and stick to calling them sea ponies.
5. It seems everything is in groups of six in this show. The Mane 6; the Keys; the Shadowbolts (before Twilight left Crystal Prep); the Pillars; and now the School Six (as I shall call them). Eh, I can think of worse themes.
6. That being said, I'm really digging the School Six. A very eclectic mashup of creatures and personalities. I look forward to seeing what adventures they'll have. By the by, in case you're wondering, my favorite is Ocellus the changeling. She's just so cute~! 
7. Having taken Literacy and Instruction, I feel like Twilight was put in a no-win situation. Most lesson plans are created with the intention of reaching as many students as possible, regardless of background, mental capabilities, or what have you. Clearly, the EEA did not design their curriculum with dragons, yaks, griffons, changelings, and hippogriffs sea ponies in mind. If Twilight wanted to get the results she was aiming for, she had to go outside the rules.
8. So, uh, is Grandpa Gruff king of the griffons now or something? Why is his approval as valid as that of Prince Rutherford, King Thorax, Lord Ember, and Queen Novo's ambassador? 
9. Can we just take a moment to appreciate how Twilight's school succeeded in teaching friendship by failing to teach friendship? And Discord wasn't even in this episode! Sometimes, life's just crazy like that, eh? 
So, in conclusion. First off, I must find a way to see the movie, if only to get full context for the rest of the season. But other than that, I'm digging this new direction for MLP.
School is now in session, everyone!
I'm really liking the idea of Twilight opening a school. It just seemed like a natural progression for her character, going from student of Celestia to teacher of Sunset and Starlight, and then finally to having a school of her own. ^_^
I see what you mean about Neighsay and Snape, although Neighsay's blatant racism/speciesism gave me a strong Dolores Umbridge feeling too.
I knew you had good taste. Where have you been hiding it for the last three years?
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Gee, it's almost as if they're making something of Celestia's line at the end of Magical Mystery Cure: "we're all your students now too."
Snape was immune to fast-talking, and while Umbridge was not, none of the characters ever actually managed it. But Twilight did fast-talk Neighsay at the beginning, when she pitched her school as aiding in Equestria's defense from outside threats. Which was true, from a certain point of view (if you befriend a stranger, you won't have to fight them), but left Neighsay feeling betrayed at the inspection.
This is my personal favorite premiere, with Smolder and Gallus being my favorite new characters.
The movie is out on DVD if you’d like to buy it.
Other than that, why not use your computer to look for websites where you can watch movies for free? Like KissCartoon.com?
Regarding point 8, I think he's more representative of the village elder, seeing as that a patriarchal system is the quickest adaptation when a monarchy nation suddenly finds itself without a king or line of succession.
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Care to provide a citian to that claim? No seriously, if you're going to claim that you need examples.
As for in the show, your going to have prove that the gryphons are patrarticle, because when we see gryphonstone it's clearly every griffon for themselves.
To me it was average to fine. Nothing too good, but it wasn't bad neither. And yeah, I agree with point one.
On land they’re hippogryphs, in water they’re hippocampi.