Let's talk about a *really* pressing issue: Did Fluttershy ever get back the bits she'd just paid to rent the hot air balloon?

Fluttershy: Um, excuse me? I've decided to stay in Ponyville. If...if that's okay with you...

@Psi Actually, the music is what allowed them to get as much into the episode as they did. Imagine how long the sequence of discovering what the spell had done to each of the pony would be if it wasn't a musical montage.

I found it adorable that Flutters needs the Balloon to go home.

And maybe we could call the first three seasons an arc, that has now ended. On to the next one!

As said two numbers worked in well and moved things forward, the others just slowed it down or ruined the mood.

edited 16th Feb '13 4:49:49 PM by Psi001

When I watched the episode, I watched it with my dad (who has seen several other MLP episodes) and he had a comment that I liked. He said that he liked how the girls got their cutie marks back by re-trying the activities they used to do and remembering how much they liked them, this being the most obvious with Fluttershy. As opposed to Twilight doing something like a memory spell on them. So they all helped each other and helped themselves regain their memories and real cutie marks back by doing it on their own rather than having Twilight fix it for them. I realized that was a really good aspect of the story that Twilight led her friends to places where they could rediscover their talents, but they had to rediscover them on their own, not with her using a spell to make them remember. Also, that way they also avoid something that might make people think "Twilight brainwashed her friends just to maintain the status quo!" like how some people complained about the memory spell she used on them after Discord messed with them.

He also thought Fluttershy looked sad at the end, although that might be because of her "sad eyes" or Tareme expression. I didn't really notice her looking sad myself.

edited 16th Feb '13 4:53:28 PM by Rainbow

I thought the musical numbers worked just fine, and enhanced the episode.

Copying from other thread because relevant.

My high school experience was spent with friends who got me into musicals, so I guess I'm used to them by now. *shrug*

@Psi I respectfully disagree, then. Kinda hard for a song to ruin the mood when its the song that sets the mood to begin with.

edited 16th Feb '13 4:53:36 PM by PerpetualLurker

I just feel a better climax could have been made without some of them. It may have worked with one or two songs like standard episodes, but six I feel shot it down and some of them just felt narmy and irritating. As said though, I may be biased since I tend to dislike the songs.

edited 16th Feb '13 4:55:56 PM by Psi001

@ Rainbow

Yeah, that's right.

And also, this episode really demonstrated that all ponies have magic. Hence the glowing. I now believe that any tribe could pull a power of love moment using their inner magic.

I enjoyed the music too.

edited 16th Feb '13 4:58:22 PM by ApplelightLimited

Random thought: Good Morning Ponyville?

@Psi So that's a complaint that you'd levy at any Musical Episode, then? Sounds like it just comes down to personal preference.

edited 16th Feb '13 4:59:12 PM by PerpetualLurker

@ Kyler

I'd use her as an example of how Human! Pinkie could be heavyset and still be her bouncy self.

It will all end in a universe-scale crisis that results in a reboot, making way for G5.

@Kyler

This may be off-topic, but where did your humanized Lyra avatar come from? Google Image doesn't help, and I collect Lyras.

Will Equestria be invaded?

My thoughts, after my initial viewing and after letting 8 hours pass. I originally intended to make this short and simple. Then I got carried away:

The writers created Twilicorn without breaking the world or the character. I would have liked to see more worldbuilding RE alicorns (it left several questions hanging), but it did the job. We didn't get to see much of the "fallout" from Twilight's ascension (i.e., "now what?"), so it'll be important to see how that's handled in Season 4.

Speaking of Season 4; if Celestia's words are anything to go by, there are going to be some major changes, probably both in-universe and in terms of the writing and storylines. How exactly Season 4 will differ from the first 3 is anyone's guess. Cerebus Syndrome is certainly on my mind, but I could be completely wrong. Regardless, they don't seem to be slapping wings on Twilight, changing nothing else, and calling it a day. Even bearing in mind fears of shark-jumping, I'd say this is a good thing. Making a major change in Twilight like this and then going back to business-as-usual would be poor form, and after 2.5 seasons of the same basic format, shaking things up is probably a good idea. I'm really eager to see exactly where they go with this.

And the term "alicorn" is canon now (not just as the name of the Amulet). So that's just awesome.

The ep itself was...good, but definitely flawed. Good material, as usual; songs (Celestia Sings!), jokes (Pinkie Spit-take!), character interaction, fan shoutouts (Derpy!!!) etc., were all well-done, and there was a lot of it. As for the ascent/coronation itself, I don't think I can begin to complain about that section.

But the way that material was organized detracted from the ep. Mainly because yes, the pacing definitely felt rushed, and the Cutie Mark-switching section felt rather tacked-on as a result. I'd really have liked to see Twilight's final test be something more weighty and taxing (e.g., The Royal Wedding or The Return of Harmony), since passing it is such a Big Deal, and the "payoff" is so significant. The Cutie Mark-switching story was good, but run-of-the-mill as the show's plots storylines go, and this cheapened the ascent and coronation's emotional impact.

Honestly, though, I'm not sure there was a way around that; they essentially had 11 minutes to work with. Many people have already said it, and many more will say it; this would have been way better as a two-parter (and with the story's conflict expanded to match). Sadly, that's not for the writers to decide. It's especially disheartening because the writers, animators, V As, and composers clearly brought their A-Games, both for us and for the kids.

I'm tempted to call it a "noble failure", but the material that's in the ep is too good for that descriptor. Still, it's hard to watch it without seeing the missed potential. I've felt like the show was harmed by its time constraints before (again, The Royal Wedding and The Return of Harmony spring to mind), but never as severely as this.

At the end of the day, though, the ep was entertaining, if flawed, and Twilight's coronation seems to have left the spirit and world of the show intact. We'll have to wait for Season 4 to know for certain. The ep itself may represent a stumble, but as far as I'm concerned, we can put away the shark tank and waterskis for now.

Here you go, m'sieur Korodzik.

Now I wonder if there's still any racial prejudice in Ponyville. Zebras?

Friendship magic X spiral energy

edited 16th Feb '13 5:06:24 PM by KylerThatch

@Lurker: I'd not like the setup, but still accept it's good from another point of view. However even trying to see it non biased, I feel some of the numbers ruined the pacing and drama, and I ended up thinking the non musical elements got rushed through.

It wasn't a terrible episode from that perception, but it was very flawed. Season Three as a whole just felt marred by time and compression issues and wasting way too much time on minor details rather than the main plot that a lot of episodes don't reach their proper potential.

edited 16th Feb '13 5:11:41 PM by Psi001

Well it had a lot of sereis final tropes. Like the main character ascending and the montage from previous episodes. I wonder if Season4 will be a Post Script Season.

Twilight will now get a student of her own, and the cycle continues.

The bingo results are in.

@ Fluid

It'll be Trixie.

We did alright!

edited 16th Feb '13 5:20:06 PM by ApplelightLimited

I think the episode has pacing issues (I'm writing my review on it right now, and half of it basically me explaining why I think it should have been a two-parter), but I honestly think that the songs helped mitigate it. I would have prefered a non-musical two parter to what we got, but I also think that the musical montages are what saved this episode from being painfully compressed.

@Fluid: Sounds like Sith-y business. Always two, there are. No more, no less.

Twilight: "Once I was but the learner, now I am the master."
???: "But you were Celestia's student..."
Twilight: "Hush, you."

edited 16th Feb '13 5:20:48 PM by KylerThatch