The Beginning of the End - Part 1+2
part 1 link
part 2 link
!! SPOILERS AHEAD !!
So the final season has started...
I'm wondering what will happen throughout this season and in the end.
But for now here are my thoughts on this two-parter:
The plot was a bit forced.
I know S8 left things pretty much as a setup for this to happen, but Celestia and Luna randomly retiring or Grogar not acting sooner was a bit out there...
Nevertheless, I have kind of looked forward to this type of plot for a while now. All the villains working together is great.
Sombra talking so much feels odd...
I'm not sure I can take Grogar seriously. He is portrayed as extremely ancient and powerful. He will make a perfect "final villain", but Idk I just don't dig his personality nor his design...
At the beginning of the 2nd part, I thought up a list of things the mane 6 could possibly do, and this is what I came up with:
1. Learn about a new artifact or power, obtain and use it
(Might be plausible but it would be kind of an asspull and I guess it wouldn't be any different from their previous plan (using the elements), so it would have made for a bad story.)
2. Talk-No-Jutsu
(Sombra giving in would have been out of character. It did work against Starlight though...)
3. Help from the human world and Sunset Shimmer
(The human world IS canon, as far as I remember Twilight does mention something about it in a previous season. Just saying... But I guess Sunset wouldn't have helped much.)
4. Celestia and Luna intervene
5. Help from the pillars of Equestria
6. Discord intervenes
7. Traditional fighting and cleverness
8. "Friendship always wins"
(And these are the things that happened. I even went and described 8. as an asspull and it would be lame. But I think it was well executed.)
Twilight deflecting those hits from Sombra with her horn was epic, to be fair.
Discord faking being hit was obvious. For all I know, he was faking against Tirek too. Guy is unbeatable.
You would have to wonder why Grogar didn't summon him, too.
It might be explained later on. Maybe Discord is something like a nemesis to Grogar, or he simply believes Discord is reformed to the point of no return.
The series finale being the epic showdown, I predict Discord will probably play a role in defending and losing against Grogar.
I expect the series finale to be more than just "Ponies vs. villains" and "friendship always wins" yada yada.
I want something beautiful, something epic, something that I won't forget. Like a nice song.
Something like a time skip or a (well executed) recap of the whole show might be a good way to end it.
And something like a "now it is up to you, viewer" moment.