On the Finale

Now that I’ve had a night’s sleep to *ahem* compose myself, it’s time I shared my thoughts on the series finale. Because it was nothing less than beautiful. We’ve shared in their joy, watched them push past their sorrows, and now these little ponies we’ve known and loved have come full circle, passing the torch of friendship to the next generation. But, like Twilight’s memory book, we’ll always be able to look back on the show with great fondness, and relive it all again.

I’ve never been the most emotional person, but in truth, I was full-on sobbing by the end credits, the first time I’ve even gotten so worked up over a television show, and only my third time with media overall. (The other two being The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and Maquia, if you’re curious, but that’s not super relevant right now.)

The final three episodes weren’t flawless, of course. While I didn’t mind the Discord-is-Grogar twist, I would have preferred if his reasoning had been to orchestrate a sort of stealth reformation in the form of continued teambuilding exercises leading to eventual friendship, thus extending the four villains the same chance he was given. ‘Grogar’s’ constant emphasis on the importance of working together alluded to such. Not to mention, how did Cozy Glow know how to use her unicorn magic so effectively, to the point she could even make portals, something the likes of Starlight or Twilight haven’t been shown doing? Midnight Sparkle could, but she wasn’t controlling them so much as just ripping space apart. We know the bell doesn’t transfer knowledge, otherwise Cozy would have been able to use the chaos magic properly as well.

By extension, was My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic perfect? No, of course not. I could name dozens of shows with better animation, better music, better voice acting, or better overall writing. But none of those shows surpass MLP’s heart. The soul of series, the worldview our pastel equines conveyed to us, one which I’d argue is more noble in its intent than some religions. Anyone who’s been nitpicking the plot to shreds, or worse, sending threats to the show’s creators over sinking their favorite ship, which I have sadly heard is a thing that’s happening, has completely missed the point, the same message that’s been present from the start. That being: we should look out for eachother, help eachother, and make the effort to be a better people, even if it isn’t always easy. (Dammit, I’m tearing up again as I write this.) Forget just little girls, or even us in the brony community, every man, woman, and child the world over should see this series. It’s certainly been translated into enough languages already, and if they did, I think the world would be a much better place than it is today.

Godspeed, Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Spike. Godspeed.

Comments

[WorkNLurk]

Same here. Already the next day and I'm on the verge of bawling my eyes out. Over a silly cartoon. I never realized how much this affected me.

Excellent critique and thoughts about the finale. I'd post my thoughts but I'm still an incoherent mess lol.

[FanOfMostEverything]

Very well-put indeed. And if any long-time fan didn't tear up at that last song, they may not have a soul.

(Also, knowing Discord, he may have figured that reformation was an unspoken part of the thwarting process.)

[Reese]

Thank you.

[OleGrayMane]

I was full-on sobbing by the end credits, the first time I’ve even gotten so worked up over a television show

I mean, uh, it's like we are here right? Smack in the middle of a nutso fandom, so I expect no less! Also, that's how I end up with most episodes, so yeah, I guess it gets worse with age.

Nice level-headed review, too. And "hi!" again.